Review: OmniOutliner Pro 4

OmniOutliner Pro is all about structure. It’s like a combination of a word processor and the list- and table-making capabilities of Excel. In fact, if you commonly use Excel as a simple list-based database, you’ll find OmniOutliner a more powerful dedicated option. Likewise, if you want to create long documents that depend on a rigorous application of structure, such as technical documentation, OmniOutliner is a great option.

OmniOutliner Pro can be used for virtually any list-making or long-document task.

Version 4.0 features a redesigned interface and is now Mavericks-only. As with previous versions of OmniOutliner, it’s easy to create consistently styled outlines. Unlike the outliners built into word processors, there’s a strong focus on keyboard commands, which, for the professional writer, is a huge advantage. Features such as Focus View (which lets you display only the current row and all its “children”) are great when you’re working on a lot of information.

OmniOutliner Pro is powerful, but the features in the Pro version are probably not worth the extra $50 over the regular version. Pro allows you to export files in .docx format, for instance, but the regular version exports in Word-readable RTF. 

The bottom line. If you need an outliner, this is the one to get. But consider whether you really need the Pro version.