Tree Outliner

If you are a Mac-user then you may want to consider adding Tree, the outliner software program, to your toolkit. There are several outlining programs available, including the great OmniOutliner. Tree offers a lesser number of features than OmniOutliner, but the features it does offer are implemented spectacularly well.Tree is an outliner, but with three key twists.

First, you can easily set up the default fonts for outlines and nested notes, colors, and other options. Once this is done the whole look-and-feel of Tree is elegant and simple. It's a joy to use functionally and aesthetically.

Second, traditional outliners are vertical in nature: first level entries, second level entries, and so on. Tree can do that if you want, but the default behavior is horizontal. First level entries are all to the far left, second level entries indented to the right, and so on. I can't really explain why, but the resulting outlines are much easier for me to view and "see" the big picture. Literally to see the tree from the branches.

Third, Tree uses tabs. A small, but incredibly useful feature. This means in my main Tree window I can have three, five, seven outlines open all at the same time in an organized manner. Just click on the relevant tab to go to another outliner to work on. In my job I develop a few outlines that continually need to be updated or refined. This tab structure works beautifully. Typically I'll have no more than 4 or 5 outlines open in tabs. Fortunately Tree remembers what tabs you had open at your last usage of the software, so when you start Tree up it will automatically open all the previously opened tabs. This is very efficient and a great time saver.

Any disadvantages? A few. Tree does not offer as many options as OmniOutliner Pro, but instead offers different features. Cost: the program costs about $38. (You actually pay in Japanese Yen.) Third, the documentation is sufficient but probably could do with some additional examples and elaboration.

In a way the Tree outlines look something like mindmaps. This makes sense as mindmaps are essentially visual outliners. If all you were typing in were essentially "labels" (one or two word descriptors) then a mindmap might do as well or better. But for true outlining I find Tree to be the better choice.

Tree may be a revelation for you (as it was for me) or simply "who cares." But if you're a Mac user you owe it to yourself to check it out and take Tree for a test drive.

tree outliner website