Glossary

Some words and phrases used in OmniOutliner have very specific meanings, and though we strive to make those meanings clear, this is a good place to come for further assistance.

Is there is a term missing from this list, or something here that doesn’t quite make sense? Please Email Support about what would be helpful, and we’ll do our best to clarify or update.

The App Menu contains information to help you get the most out of OmniOutliner and settings for customizing your OmniOutliner experience. Tap in the toolbar of the document browser to access it. See The App Menu for more details.

Apple User Guides

Apple provides User Guides for a variety of devices, operating systems, and applications:

Columns

Requires OmniOutliner Pro

Compact View

Default view on iPhone, or iPad (when running in some split screen sizes). This view shows each pane of OmniOutliner individually, and can be thought of as navigating a series of stacked cards. You can see the Sidebar, Outline, or Inspector.

Compare this with Regular View.

See Shortcut Menu

Device

Hardware that runs each Platform supported by OmniOutliner.

Supported devices include Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro.

Document

OmniOutliner creates two different types of documents. Outlines (with the file extension .ooutline) represent structured writing or other data, and are the primary document type. Templates (with the file extension .otemplate) are the other type, used to store style presets or other document attributes you might frequently reuse.

To learn more about Documents, see the Documents and Templates chapter.

Document Browser

The file browser that OmniOutliner uses to help you manage OmniOutliner outlines and templates. Starting with OmniOutliner 3.4, OmniOutliner uses the built in iOS file browser for document management, including access to your files in the cloud (with iCloud Drive or another storage service) and files synced with OmniPresence to Omni Sync Server or a WebDAV server.

Drag and Drop

A system-level function that allows dragging items into OmniOutliner, out of OmniOutliner, and between OmniOutliner and other apps on Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro. Try dragging text into OmniOutliner from other apps, reordering items in the outline, and dragging rows or selected text from OmniOutliner to other apps on your device.

A menu available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, which allows editing of text in text fields; normally accessed by tapping in a text field while editing text.

Most often contains system commands such as:

May also contain OmniOutliner-specific commands, such as:

Files

The Files app offers a way to access files in local app directories, as well as those in the cloud. You can copy files to the local app directory, tap OmniOutliner files to open them in OmniOutliner, and also drag from OmniOutliner into the Files app.

Gutter

The space on the leading edge of the document, immediately before the row handle, and after the Note icon.

Tapping or clicking in this space will select the row.

Hierarchy

The structure of your outline, showing the relationship between rows.

Read the Hierarchy section of The Outline chapter, to learn more.

Inspector

A view on the trailing side of the OmniOutliner window (in Regular View), or that opens from the bottom of the window (in Compact View), which allows you to adjust all the details for text, rows, and columns.

With something selected in the Outline or Sidebar, the Inspector automatically shows relevant fields. Click Inspector in the Toolbar, or choose Show Inspector from the View menu.

Additional information is available in the Inspector chapter.

Keyboard Shortcut

A single key, or set of keys pressed in combination, that calls a Command. These are available when using a Mac, or with an external keyboard attached to an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

Leading/Trailing Edge

When using OmniOutliner with a left to right language, the leading edge is the left side, and the trailing edge is the right side.

When using OmniOutliner with a right to left language, the leading edge is the right side, and the trailing edge is the left side.

Omni Account

Your Omni Account can be used to start a free trial of our applications, purchase a license or subscription, upgrade an existing license, or sync our applications using the Omni Sync Server.

Read the Using and managing your Omni Account support article to learn more.

Omni Automation

A method of scripting OmniOutliner with JavaScript. See the Omni Automation website for more information on this feature.

Outline

On Mac, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, this is the center area of the OmniOutliner window, with the Sidebar available on the Leading Edge, and the Inspector available on the Trailing Edge.

On iPhone, this is also the primary area of OmniOutliner, with both the Sidebar and Inspector hidden most of the time, but available for changing your view or data.

See The Outline chapter to learn more.

Platform

Operating system that runs on each Apple Device supported by OmniOutliner.

Supported platforms include iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS.

Plug-In

Omni Automation Plug-Ins are written in JavaScript, and can be used for automating various tasks, when using OmniOutliner Pro.

Visit the Omni Automation in OmniOutliner website to learn more.

Regular View

Default view on Mac, iPad (when running in full screen), Apple Vision Pro, and Web. This view can show the Sidebar, Outline, and Inspector at the same time.

Compare this with Compact View.

Row

The basic building block of content in OmniOutliner.

Read the Rows section of The Outline chapter, to learn more.

Settings

See OmniOutliner Settings or System Settings, depending on whether you want to change something about OmniOutliner, or something about the system on which OmniOutliner is running.

If you touch and hold on a Row, Column, or selection of text, a Shortcut Menu may appear with relevant commands.

Apple previously referred to this type of menu as a context or contextual menu.

A pane to the left of the Outline, which can display folders, projects, tags, or a calendar, depending on which Perspective you are viewing. When using Regular View, choosing Show/Hide Sidebar will show or hide the Sidebar, next to the Outline. When using Compact View, the Sidebar will slide in from the left, and will slide out to the left when you are finished using it, leaving the Outline visible.

Read the Sidebar section of the Perspectives chapter, to learn more.

Status Bar

The status bar, at the bottom of your document window on Mac, displays the number of rows, words, and characters currently shown in the outline.

Displayed numbers are based on the rows currently displayed in the outline, if they were fully expanded. Filtering the outline will change the numbers, but expanding or collapsing displayed rows will not.

System Settings

Apple application that allows you to change options that affect either your entire device, or only OmniOutliner.

This application is named Settings on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro; it is named System Settings on Mac, where it was previously named System Preferences.

Template

An OmniOutliner document that contains the base settings such as the row styles, background colors, or numbering used when creating a OmniOutliner outline. Templates can also include outline content, which is used as the basis for documents using the Template Picker.

An area at either the top or bottom of the OmniOutliner window which contains tools for modifying the contents of that window, or provides access to additional functionality, such as Commands, Settings, OmniOutliner Help, or Automation.

For additional information, see the Toolbar chapter.