Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Outlines -- How do *you* use them?

Author:Ian Beatty
Posted:3/11/1999; 7:59:52 AM
Topic:Outlines -- How do *you* use them?
Msg #:3939 (In response to 3928)
Prev/Next:3938 / 3940

1) Keeping organized! In my Workspace I have a "To Do" outline, and I set up an item in my custom menu with command-"=" as a shortcut to it. I use the outline as a massively hierarchic to-do list, because I have too many items to keep track of in a simple list. I have categories of tasks, sub-categories, etc. by topic.

2) General organization: When I'm planning something out, whether it's a written document or the specs for a software project, I find I think most naturally in a hierarchic, outliner fashion. These days I prefer to prewrite and write in Frontier and publish to HTML rather than writing in Word, when possible.

3) Web-publishing lists/outlines: I find it easy to organize and revise something like a meeting agenda in an outline. To make it available to other meeting participants, I just render it to a web page, using an outline renderer. I wrote my own ordered-list renderer for the purpose.

3) Now that we have wrapping headlines (Frontier 6b4), I'm looking at moving the content for my website pages to outlines, for easier editing and to make the structure of nested HTML tags more obvious. I may write some kind of simple renderer for this, too, to automate formatting patterns I use across my website.

I just wish my C++ and Java development environment allowed outlined code the way UserTalk does! I could edit in Frontier and paste into the IDE, but the IDE's editor has too many useful features to give up.

HTH...

-- Ian

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