From linda at omnigroup.com Wed Jan 5 18:17:54 2005 From: linda at omnigroup.com (Linda Sharps) Date: Thu Nov 3 13:05:00 2005 Subject: THIS JUST IN: Omni releases new stuff, emails hyperbole Message-ID: <2C851810-5F89-11D9-AA00-003065A0E444@omnigroup.com> Hello there, you amazing people who subscribe to the OmniNews list! Are you doing something different with your hair? Because you look FABULOUS. Really. I'm just saying. I know most of the time I write you I have no actual "news", and my emails are more, oh, I don't know, a "thinly disguised effort to take you for every cent you've got", ha ha, but TODAY, today I have news. New product releases, by golly, and not just two - *three*. On the same day. No doubt killing our web server. Because we are so smart! S-M-R-T! Just posted and waiting for your download at are OmniOutliner 3 and OmniOutliner Professional 3. They are HUGE updates to our little outlining app, and I hope you like them. You've got tons of new options for styling and editing documents; you can include attachments; you've got new export options, inline notes, improved AppleScript support, a batch find feature, and WAIT THERE'S MORE, because in the Pro version you've ALSO got folded editing, clipping service support, audio recording, and saved templates. It's like, how can I possibly have more news, because this is already so awesome? Well it's a good thing you don't pay for the full seat in THIS news list because I am here to tell you that today you will ONLY NEED THE EDGE. Bam! You also have a brand new version of OmniWeb waiting for you at . OmniWeb 5.1 integrates the latest Apple Webcore rendering engine, which means it going to be more compatible with some websites that might have been giving you trouble before. Also! History browsing is way better, now that we've included some updates to the cache. And you can tab between form elements now, and there've been improvements to OmniWeb's Java compatibility and performance, and would you believe there are ALSO "other improvements and fixes"? Because there ARE. I am totally all winded from these ALL CAPS words and the exclamation marks and all, but I need to tell you that we also have brand new family pack pricing on our online store at . Family pack pricing! You know, for kids! Or any members of your household that get sick of you hogging our software all day long. Now you can get a discounted multi-seat license for everyone. Enjoy! Download the new stuff, try it out, let us know what you think. And come visit us at Macworld, booth #2338 - we'll have giveaways, and special discounts! Okay, I need to lie down now. From linda at omnigroup.com Tue Mar 8 10:53:23 2005 From: linda at omnigroup.com (Linda Sharps) Date: Thu Nov 3 13:05:00 2005 Subject: OmniNews - Issue #16 Message-ID: <58F8528C-9003-11D9-95B5-003065A0E444@omnigroup.com> OmniNewsletter www.omnigroup.com - March 8, 2005 Issue #16 Q: Why did the Archaeopteryx catch the worm? A: Because it was an early bird! Awwww yeah. Do other software companies give you this kind of sophisticated email amusement? You're darn tooting they don't. Sure, our emails might be devoid of "useful content" and include too many "quotation marks", but who else but Omni is going to toss a little dinosaur joke action your way today? See a need and fill it, that's OUR motto. PS. Make sure you at least skim today's fascinating newsletter so you learn about our photo contest, which we assure you is not some half-baked plan I came up with, like, five minutes ago. WHAT'S NEW -------------------------------------------------------+ Well *I* for one sure didn't see that Denise Richards/Charlie Sheen split coming! I mean, I was just getting over Brad and Jen, when - Oh, what's new with OMNI. Right. LINKBACK Have you ever pasted a diagram from a drawing app into your word processing document, only to notice a glaring mistake (pie chart, inexplicably, includes references to actual pie) - and then you can't change the image without going back to the other app, finding your original file, then re-copying, then re-pasting, and it better not say "Lemon Meringue" this time because O THE TRAGEDY? Okay, I KNOW I'm not alone here. Happily, that's about to change. We recently made an announcement with Nisus Software about supporting the LinkBack technology ( - LinkBack lets you make edits to the text or graphics that you've pasted from another application. Woo hoo! So, for instance, if you copy and paste a graphic from OmniGraffle into Nisus Writer, or some other application supporting LinkBack, you can just double click the image to make changes. It's not just a PDF of the pasted text or graphic - it's....ALIVE! We plan to offer this functionality in upcoming versions of both OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle, so stay tuned. OMNIOUTLINER 3.0.1 Hopefully by now you're all up to speed with our new versions of OmniOutliner: OmniOutliner 3 and OmniOutliner 3 Professional. (By the way, I sure am glad we went with those particular naming conventions, because it's just no fun to type product names that have less than 29751 characters, you know?) We're getting a lot of great feedback on the apps, and our development work goes on - just like that singing lady's heart in Titanic. If you're running 3.0 you can download an update at ; version 3.0.1 includes a Japanese localization, and a plethora of fixes you probably want to get your hands on. OMNIGRAFFLE 3.2 Another update is on the way, this time for OmniGraffle. OmniGraffle 3.2 is slated to be released this Wednesday, and will include Japanese, German, French, and Italian localizations. We're all about the international language around here, if you know what I mean. Heh heh heh. WHAT? I meant that we are excited to offer support for these languages for our international customers! Jeez. Anyway, 3.2 will also have support for the new OmniOutliner 3 file format, so you can import your new Outliner files directly into OmniGraffle. Yay! We also made some improvements to the Action inspector, which our OmniGraffle product manager just told me over iChat makes the inspector "more logical", with "better grmmar". Let us all take a moment to release loud donkeylike brays of laughter over his accidental use of the word "grmmar". There are a number of other fixes in 3.2, so please check back with us to grab the download at when you're ready. As a reminder, all of our products have a built in software update mechanism, the app will actually let you know when there's a new version available. So, no need to wait for us to spam - uhhhhh, "notify" you. Unless you like that sort of thing. Heh. Heh heh. WHAT? TIPS & TRICKS -------------------------------------------------------+ In lieu of anything productive, I give you...your OmniOutliner On Drugs: 1. Start a new OmniOutliner 3 document. 2. Create some rows of text. 3. Select the rows, hold down the Option key, and open a contextual menu (right click) 4. Hit "clear styles", still holding down the Option key. Watch as the Styles system completely randomizes! Just look at those eye-catching results! Save the document and give it to your boss the next time you're asked to create an expense report. UNSOLICITED USER LOVE -------------------------------------------------------+ People sometimes say to me, "Marketing Weasel, do you ever make up the customer emails in the Unsolicited User Love section"? And what kind of chocolates do you prefer?" My answer is always the same: no, I never ever have to resort to embellishing these emails, because our users BRING IT ON LIKE DONKEY KONG. Also: salt caramels from Fran's Chocolates - because each piece comes with its own tiny symphony that plays "Ode to Joy" when you eat it. Here is a recent message from user Archie, who definitely wins the Omni Award for Best Customer Email So Far in 2005. Congratulations, Archie! We are mailing you a bronze statue of one of the office cats.* *Shipping time may vary by state, statue may not arrive for 28-59 months. Archie wrote: - - - "I am writing to complain about your concerted effort to disrupt my attempts to be thrifty and responsible. It is an obvious conspiracy you've fomented to make sure that I have little disposable income, and you should know that I'm both aware of it, and that I think you should be ashamed of yourselves, the lot of you. For shame! And to anticipate your weak argument: yes, my financial health is your responsibility. It is unfair enough that you continue to crank out uniformly useful and elegantly-designed software. But you then compound your evil by creating upgrades to them which present such irresistible and compelling reasons for me to upgrade, that I end up shelling out even more money, even as my children go without shoes. What kind of people are you, anyway? Do you *want* my children to be shoeless? Surely, if you continue on this Damnable Course Of Unerring Quality, my family and I will end up living in a box, our only lifeline to the modern world my Powerbook, running all of your applications, the glow from its display providing our only light." - - - Now, we don't want your children to be shoeless, but consider: Omni retail boxes make for fashionable, and occasionally even comfortable, footwear! CDs can double as attractive beverage coasters! Manuals can be used to shelter your head during rainstorms! I'm sure I can come up with even MORE dubious reasons to spend money on our software, but maybe it would be best for us all if - Actually, that makes me think of a cool little promo we could run. Hey, let's all skip to the next section, okay? THAT COOL (WELL, POSSIBLY "COOL" IN A "LAME, CONTRIVED" KIND OF WAY) PROMO I JUST MENTIONED -------------------------------------------------------+ Okay, here's the deal. Take a picture of yourself with one of Omni's products or the output thereof - it can be a box, your laptop running one of our apps, a printout of some cool document you created, whatever you can think of. The person who submits the best photo (that doesn't make our grandmother blush, AHEM) will win $50 towards anything on our online store, or the equivalent in an Amazon gift certificate. Send your photos by MONDAY MARCH 15, to linda@omnigroup.com, and let me know in the email whether or not it's okay to post your photo on our website for everyone to laugh at, I mean, admire. Embarrass yourself for our entertainment, win 50 bucks! You can't go wrong! Unless, um, you don't win. But aren't we ALL winners, INSIDE? ACTUAL EMAIL FROM ACTUAL OMNI EMPLOYEE -------------------------------------------------------+ From: an engineer Subject: Does anyone have a clue why my office vibrates now? For the last week or so my office has been... thrumming... constantly. I'm slowly going mad, and I can't locate the source. Has anyone been installing sonic torture devices in my floor or ceiling? Anyone aware of something that may have changed? Anything? My floor is vibrating. I'm not imagining it, I swear it. I'm not insane... yet. (Note: we actually are pretty sure he IS insane. But that might just be the World of Warcraft sleep deprivation.) THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH -------------------------------------------------------+ Thank you, as always, for your interest in Omni. Drop me a line (linda@omnigroup.com) with ideas, comments, and explanations for this video: . To subscribe (woohoo!), unsubscribe (d'oh!), or change your settings, use the following link: http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/omninews From kc at omnigroup.com Wed Sep 14 09:19:34 2005 From: kc at omnigroup.com (Ken Case) Date: Thu Nov 3 13:05:00 2005 Subject: OmniGraffle 4 has shipped Message-ID: <0AF7A368-2E67-4EB0-9A57-01A2A46CB76C@omnigroup.com> Hello everyone, I just thought I'd send a quick note to let you know that OmniGraffle 4 has shipped! This is a major update to OmniGraffle, offering a streamlined user interface and many new features. I'm forwarding a copy of our press release below (which includes pricing details), but for the full scoop (including screen shots, downloadable copies of the manual and software, release notes, etc.) please visit the OmniGraffle web site at . Enjoy! Ken -- For immediate release. The Omni Group Releases OmniGraffle 4 and OmniGraffle Professional 4 Seattle, WA -- September 14, 2005 -- The Omni Group today announced the final release of OmniGraffle 4 and OmniGraffle Professional 4. The new version is a major update to the diagramming and drawing application, and offers a streamlined user interface as well as many new features under the categories of brainstorming, drafting, import and export, and document management. Highlights from OmniGraffle 4 include a new dynamic outline view, diagram styles, a Bezier curve drawing tool, and greatly improved import and export options. OmniGraffle Professional 4 adds master canvases, notes, tables, document scale, improved Visio XML import and export, and SVG export, and more. WHAT'S NEW IN OMNIGRAFFLE 4: Updated interface Eighteen inspectors have been consolidated to three powerful inspector windows, without losing any critical functionality. Each one has tab-like buttons for switching between inspectors. The new utility drawer contains the new outline view, and also lists canvases and their layers. Outline view Fire up the Outline view to quickly jot down thoughts or topics - while you're doing that, OmniGraffle is creating objects in the main window that can be automatically laid out as you enter your data. Even the notes you create get associated with objects, and export as OmniOutliner notes if you so choose. Diagram styles When you enter text information in the Outline view, the graphical objects that are created can be styled and restyled instantly the way you choose. OmniGraffle can associate a different style with each level in your outline, so all your level one items can be represented as blue diamonds, your level two items as purple horseshoes, and so on. You can even use OmniGraffle's outline styles as filters if you import OmniOutliner documents, by mapping styles to your OmniOutliner document structure. Create your own styles by laying out hierarchical objects in the document window and saving them as an outline style, or use our built-in styles. Bezier curves Traditionally only found in expensive, professional illustrating programs, OmniGraffle's new Bezier curve drawing tool allows you to easily create custom shapes with lines made up of curves, straight lines, and control points. A Bezier curve allows you to specify not only the midpoints along a shape's outline, but also the direction of the line as it passes through the midpoints - with a little practice, you'll have almost unlimited control over the objects you design. LinkBack support OmniGraffle 4 now supports LinkBack, an open source technology designed to facilitate content management. With LinkBack, when you copy graphics from OmniGraffle to another application which supports LinkBack, you won't just be copying a PDF picture of your diagram, you'll also be making an editable copy of the diagram itself. Improved import/export: PICT, PDF, OmniOutliner Nearly all existing import and export options have been greatly refined and improved. A new vector PICT export format is available: OmniGraffle can now both copy as vector PICT and export to that format, so you can more easily copy and paste between OmniGraffle diagrams and Carbon applications such as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. Hyperlinks are now supported on export to PDF, as is exporting multiple canvas Graffle files as a single, multiple-page PDF file. EPS export now has a preview image associated with it. Finally, OmniOutliner support has been updated, with options to import multiple column information, numbering, notes, and more. OMNIGRAFFLE PROFESSIONAL 4 FEATURES: OmniGraffle Professional 4 includes many new in-depth features designed to facilitate workflow and improve presentation options. Master canvases A master canvas can be applied to any canvas in your document, where it acts like a kind of background layer. Once you create a master canvas, you can drag and drop it within your document to apply its styles and elements there. A canvas with a master applied displays the contents of the master behind its own contents, so you can easily re-use certain designs or control the placement of text and graphics. Notes Notes are a handy way to store arbitrary information about objects in a diagram. An object with a note displays the note in a tag when you rest the pointer over it for a moment; click the note inspector to view and edit the note. You can use rich text in notes, so they can be styled and include links to websites. Notes can be imported from or exported to OmniOutliner, and they also show up in presentation mode. Tables Now you can create any shape and convert to a table with the "make table" menu item. Add rows and columns just by dragging handles or using keyboard shortcuts; select individual cells by clicking your table once, then clicking the cell. For the technically inclined: tables have made it much easier to graphically display information from your imported EOModeler, Project Builder, and Interface Builder files. Document scale Use OmniGraffle Professional's new ruler with automatic dimensioning when you're` drawing something to scale, scale being the relationship between the size of the page and the size of the objects being drawn. You can set up a scale such as "1 in = 2 ft" or "100 px = 1 km" and OmniGraffle takes care of the rest - no need to do the math yourself. Visio XML import/export, SVG export OmniGraffle Professional 4 now uses the recently-opened Visio XML schemas, so there have been many improvements to the Visio XML import/ export function, and some of the newer feature sets (such as the Bezier drawing tool) bring OmniGraffle's Visio support to a higher level. Additional, there is now support for exporting to the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. SVG can display OmniGraffle documents beautifully at any size, whether you're viewing them on the screen of a mobile phone or on a large print banner. PRICING INFORMATION: OmniGraffle 4 is available now for $79.95, and OmniGraffle 4 Professional is $149.95. Upgrades from OmniGraffle 3 to 4 are $29.95, and upgrades from OmniGraffle 3 Professional to OmniGraffle 4 Professional are $49.95. Additional upgrade options and educational pricing are also available from . From scott at omnigroup.com Fri Dec 2 14:56:11 2005 From: scott at omnigroup.com (Scott Maier) Date: Fri Dec 2 14:57:51 2005 Subject: OmniNews - Issue #17 Message-ID: <33AABD89-E7A1-4ED6-9B31-7E1EC836FED1@omnigroup.com> OmniNewsletter www.omnigroup.com - November 21, 2005 Issue #17 IMAGINE you are perusing your e-mail, and you encounter an OmniNewsletter. It sparkles before you. You rub your eyes. You realize your fingers are coated in Naga Jolokia pepper oils and run screaming to a sink. You return and look again at your screen; it still says Omni News. You count 250 days since Omni sent out a newsletter. But you don't need to imagine. OmniNewsletter Issue #17 is truly ready, after over 35 weeks. Don't assume our delay is due to some lack of Salient Omni Topics; we've got plenty of stuff to tell you about. Our Marketing Weasel, usually responsible for sending out your info- and wit-packed Omni Newsletters, is absent, as said Weasel tends to Important Familial Obligations. So a couple of us less- weaselly types eventually sat down to craft a brand new, equally info- packed but quite less wit-packed letter to sate your Newsletter appetites. So it may not be as fun as your normal newsletter, but just to make it interesting, we made sure it does not contain any instances of letter #8 (you know, it comes after "G"), except in web addresses. Writing sans our language's number 9 most frequently used letter is astoundingly difficult. LET'S GO! POINTY EDGES ARE SO DANGEROUS, ER I MEAN NEW SOFTWARE -------------------------------------------------------+ All major Omni applications except OmniDictionary and OmniOutliner are available in beta or release candidate versions! If you like to live on a cutting-, or bleeding-, or some-word-even-more-painful-and- extreme-sounding-edge, try one or all of 'em today! - OmniWeb 5.1.3 beta 1 - OmniGraffle 4.1 release candidate 1 - OmniObjectMeter 2.5 beta 1 WAIT DID YOU SAY OMNIGRAFFLE 4.1 -------------------------------------------------------+ Yes, in case you weren't compulsively reloading software update web sites all September, maybe you missed it. OmniGraffle got a major upgrade to version 4, and we really mean major. Remember OmniGraffle 3 and its inspectors so numerous, if you tried to open all 18 at once, your PowerBook tipped over and fell off your desk and broke into pieces? Now all its inspectors fit in 3 little panels. Outline View! As you type your brilliant ideas into it, objects magically appear on your canvas, automatically connected and structured to illustrate it all! New Diagram Styles are for applying consistent styles instantly to every object in a diagram, bam, like as if you painstakingly styled it all yourself. If you import outlines from OmniOutliner or type new outlines in Outline View, Diagram Styles are indispensible. OmniGraffle 4's new Pen Tool supports Bezier Curves; you can draw your own objects any way you like! No longer are you limited to ones included by default. Tons of new Pro features are included: Master Canvases, Notes, Tables, Document Scale, better importing and exporting, and so on. Not only is version 4 out, but we're working diligently on version 4.1 for you already. See OmniGraffle's web site for more information: http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ WE'LL BE READY FOR INTEL -------------------------------------------------------+ All current versions of Omni applications will get free upgrades to Universal Binaries for PowerPC and Intel processors. Count on OmniWeb 5, OmniGraffle 4, OmniOutliner 3, OmniDiskSweeper, OmniDictionary 2, and OmniObjectMeter to work fine on your fancy futuristic Macs. LOCALIZATIONS YES -------------------------------------------------------+ Do you understand any sentences I've typed so far? If not, you'll be glad to know OmniGraffle 4.1 and OmniOutliner 3.5 include localizations for Japanese, German, Italian, and languages of France, Spain, and... a country containing Amsterdam. Not only interface elements are translated, but also our lovely on-screen documentation! NEW TOPICS WE CAN'T REALLY TELL YOU ABOUT -------------------------------------------------------+ At present we can't really give away specifics, but some rumblings are going on deep in our Omni Dev Dungeons, as our Cocoamancers concoct code of potent import. I mean, we are making new new new software, and not just new versions of our veteran, battle-tested applications. So look out, for a product I can't name, coming soon, at a time I can't mention. COME SEE US IN PERSON AT MACWORLD -------------------------------------------------------+ MacWorld Conference & Expo is a Mac nerd's Super Bowl, or Tour de France, or Rock Paper Scissors International World Tournament, or some equivalent. Anyway, we wouldn't miss it. If you plan to attend, come see us January 10-13 at kiosk #2311. Meet some people involved in creating Omni's products, see a demo, and pick up some free stuff most beauteous. KGTD FTW ZOMG -------------------------------------------------------+ We're all about making an application do one broadly-defined task really well, and letting you adapt it to your specific intentions. Kinkless GTD is one guy's way of proving it works: David Allen's popular GTD productivity sytem implemented as a set of clickable AppleScripts in an outline's toolbar. It's gorgeous, it's easy, and it is introducing a lot of GTD fans to OmniOutliner and vice versa. For an introduction to GTD, see 43 Folders: http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting- things-done/ To try KGTD yourself, visit its site: http://kinkless.com/pages/kgtd WORDS OF GRATITUDE -------------------------------------------------------+ We made it. Omni Newsletter #17 is coming to an end. Did your enjoyment in reading it justify my amount of effort in creating it? Unlikely. But we made it anyway, and we didn't need any silly letter- coming-before-I. Tune in next time; our Marketing Weasel will be back writing, and I'll promise now for Miss Weasel, Newsletter #18 won't contain any vowels! Wooo! To subscribe (yayy!), unsubscribe (urgg!), or adjust your settings, clicky clicky or copy pastey: http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/listinfo/omninews To learn about lipograms and similar bad ideas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipogram