Commands and Shortcuts
This chapter gathers the commands and shortcuts found throughout OmniOutliner into a single reference.
This chapter is structured to help you easily find the information you need, with each section organized for a different purpose.
- Keyboard Shortcuts — Quick information about Keyboard Shortcuts, with tables organized by topic.
- Menu Bar on Mac — Mac menu bar items and commands, in app order.
- Menu Bar on iPad — iPad menu bar items and commands, in app order.
- Shortcut Menus — Shortcut menu items and commands, grouped by category.
- Menus by Category — All menus, grouped by category. This is a good place to start if you know the category of a menu, menu item, or menu command, and want to know more about it.
- Commands Reference — All commands are listed in alphabetical order. This is a good place to start if you know the name of a menu item or menu command, and want to know more about it.
Commands are located in Mac and iPad menu bars, as well as in Shortcut Menus on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.
Many commands are also available using Keyboard Shortcuts.
Shortcuts Reference
When using OmniOutliner with a keyboard, you can take advantage of the built-in keyboard shortcuts for many common tasks.
In addition to the built-in shortcuts, custom keyboard shortcuts can be created when using a Mac. To learn more, please see the Apple User Guide article:
Menu Bar on Mac
OmniOutliner Menu on Mac
The OmniOutliner menu holds commands related specifically to the administration of the OmniOutliner application itself. Check for updates, view and modify your preferences, and enter new license information here.
File Menu on Mac
The File menu contains options for creating, opening, renaming, exporting, and printing documents and templates.
Edit Menu on Mac
The Edit menu holds commands related to modifying the contents of rows, columns, text, and more. Cut, Copy, Paste, and Undo are all found here.
- Undo
- Redo
- Cut
- Copy
- Copy Omni Link
- Press Option for Copy Legacy Link
- Paste
- Paste and Merge Styles
- Paste and Match Style
- Paste with Original Style
- Duplicate Selection
- Delete
- Select All
- Deselect All
- Set Status
- Split Row
- Insert Line Break
- Edit Note
- Attach File…
- Link…
- Start/Stop Audio Recording
- Pause/Resume Audio Recording
- Insert Time Stamp
- Find
- Writing Tools
- Spelling and Grammar
- Substitutions
- Transformations
- Speech
- LinkBack
- AutoFill
- Start Dictation
- Emoji & Symbols
Format Menu on Mac
The Format menu contains options for formatting the contents of your document, including font and text styles, row numbering, and more.
View Menu on Mac
The View menu contains options for working within your OmniOutliner document.
- Show/Hide Tab Bar
- Show All Tabs/Exit Tab Overview
- Expand All
- Collapse All
- Expand Row(s)
- Expand Row(s) Completely
- Collapse Row(s)
- Collapse Row(s) Completely
- Focus
- Unfocus
- Zoom In
- Zoom Out
- Zoom to Actual Size
- Column Headers
- Show/Hide Status Checkboxes
- Hide Column
- Columns
- Show Full Row Text
- Notes
- Show/Hide Note(s)
- Show/Hide Note Pane
- Show/Hide All Notes
- Use Typewriter Mode
- Row Filters
- Hide/Show Sidebar
- Sidebar
- Hide/Show Inspector
- Inspectors
- Enter/Exit Full Screen
- Show/Hide Toolbar
- Add Document-Specific Toolbar
- Customize Toolbar…
- Show/Hide Status Bar
Organize Menu on Mac
The Organize menu contains options for adding, removing, and sorting the contents of your document.
Automation Menu on Mac
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Automate the way you create in OmniOutliner, using JavaScript.
Window Menu on Mac
The Window menu contains options for working with OmniOutliner’s windows.
Help Menu on Mac
Access a variety of support resources using the Help menu in OmniOutliner, including this documentation, release notes, and contact with our friendly Support Humans.
Menu Bar on iPad
OmniOutliner Menu on iPad
The OmniOutliner menu holds commands related specifically to the administration of the OmniOutliner application itself. Check for updates, view and modify your preferences, and enter new license information here.
File Menu on iPad
The File menu contains options for creating, opening, renaming, exporting, and printing documents and templates.
- Open…
- Open Recent
- Close Window
- Press Option for Close All Windows
Edit Menu on iPad
The Edit menu holds commands related to modifying the contents of rows, columns, text, and more. Cut, Copy, Paste, and Undo are all found here.
Format Menu on iPad
The Format menu contains options for formatting the contents of your document, including font and text styles, row numbering, and more.
View Menu on iPad
The View menu contains options for working within your OmniOutliner document.
Organize Menu on iPad
The Organize menu contains options for adding, removing, and sorting the contents of your document.
Automation Menu on iPad
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Automate the way you create in OmniOutliner, using JavaScript.
Window Menu on iPad
The Window menu contains options for working with OmniOutliner’s windows.
Help Menu on iPad
Search for menu items and commands.
Shortcut Menus
Attachment Shortcut Menu
This menu is only available for attachments and images.
On Mac, Control + click an attachment to display a menu which may contain:
On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro touch and hold an attachment to display a menu which may contain:
Column Header Menu on Mac
- Column Type —
- Summary Type —
- Keep Sorted —
- Clear Style —
- Hide Column —
- Remove Column — Removes the selected column from your document; only displays for columns other than the Topic column
- Resize to Fit —
- Columns —
Column Header Menu on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro
- Edit
- Sorting — Apply Keep Sorted criteria to cells in the selected column, sorting rows in matching order
- Autosize — Only displays for the Topic column, if it not currently set to autosize
- Hide — Hides the selected column from your document; only displays for columns other than the Topic column
- Delete — Removes the selected column from your document; only displays for columns other than the Topic column
Editing Shortcut Menu on Mac
Row Shortcut Menu on Mac
Editing Shortcut Menu on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro
Without any text selected:
With text selected:
Row Shortcut Menu on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro
With one or more rows selected:
Menus by Category
This section groups menus into categories, listed in alphabetical order, so you can easily find all related commands, such as those used to Edit or Organize.
Some commands are available only on specific platforms, so each section links to information for each supported Platform.
Menu bar menus are only available on Mac and iPad, but the same commands are available on iPhone and Apple Vision Pro, when using a hardware keyboard.
Automation Menu
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
See also Automation in The Toolbar chapter.
Column Header Menu
Edit Menu
Editing Shortcut Menu
File Menu
Format Menu
Help Menu
History Menu
OmniOutliner Menu
Organize Menu
Row Shortcut Menu
View Menu
Window Menu
Commands Reference
These are listed in alphabetical order, and link to where they may be found in OmniOutliner. That location may be different on Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.
Keyboard shortcuts are listed under each command.
If a keyboard shortcut is available only on specific Apple platforms, those platforms are listed. If a keyboard shortcut is available on any Apple device with an external keyboard, platform is not specified.
- About OmniOutliner
- Add Above
- Add Column
- Add Document-Specific Toolbar
- Add Inside
- Add Outside
- Add Row
- Align or Justify
- API Reference (Pro)
- Apply Template Theme…
- Attach File
- Audio Recording
- AutoFill
- Automation
- Baseline
- Bigger
- Bold
- Bring All to Front
- Center
- Center Window
- Check for Updates
- Clear Console (Pro)
- Clear Style
- Close
- Close All
- Collapse
- Columns
- Column Headers
- Connected Folders
- Contact Omni
- Copy
- Copy Image
- Copy Legacy Link
- Copy Omni Link
- Copy Style
- Customize Toolbar
- Cut
- Delete
- Delete Style
- Deselect All
- Duplicate File
- Duplicate Selection
- Duplicate Style
- Edit Attachment Properties
- Edit Note
- Emoji & Symbols
- Enter Full Screen/Exit Full Screen
- Expand
- Export
- Fill Window
- Filter
- Find
- Focus
- Font
- Full Screen Tile
- Go to Filter Field
- Group
- Hide Bottom Bar/Show Bottom Bar
- Hide Column
- Hide OmniOutliner
- Hide Others
- Show/Hide Sidebar
- In-App Purchases
- Indent/Outdent
- Insert from iPhone or iPad
- Insert Time Stamp
- Inspectors
- Installed Plug-Ins (Pro)
- Italic
- Justify
- Keep Sorted
- Kern
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- License
- Ligature
- Link
- LinkBack
- Manage Omni Account and Purchases
- Manage Plug-Ins (Pro)
- Merge All Windows
- Minimize Window
- Move
- Move and Resize
- Move To
- Move to Display
- Move Tab to New Window
- New Window on Document/New Tab on Document
- New
- New from Template…
- New Named Style
- News
- Notes
- OmniOutliner Help
- Open
- Open with
- Open with Default.app
- Open Recent
- Open Scripts Folder (Pro)
- Outline
- Page Setup
- Paste
- Paste Style
- Pause Audio Recording/Resume Audio Recording
- Preview
- Quick Look Attachment
- Quit OmniOutliner
- Quit and Close All Windows
- Redo
- Release Notes
- Remove Column
- Remove Document-Specific Toolbar
- Rename
- Resize Image
- Reveal in Finder
- Revert To
- Row Filters
- Row Numbering
- Save
- Save As
- Save As Template
- Save to Camera Roll
- Select
- Select All
- Services
- Set Password
- Set Status
- Settings
- Share
- Show All
- Show All Notes/Hide All Notes
- Show All Tabs/Exit Tab Overview
- Show as Icon
- Show as Image
- Show Automation Console (Pro)
- Show Automation Reference (Pro)
- Show Colors/Hide Colors
- Show Console (Pro)
- Show Fonts/Hide Fonts
- Show Full Row Text
- Show Inspector/Hide Inspector
- Show Next Tab/Show Previous Tab
- Show Note Pane/Hide Note Pane
- Show Note(s)/Hide Note(s)
- Show Status Checkboxes/Hide Status Checkboxes
- Show Tab Bar/Hide Tab Bar
- Show Toolbar/Hide Toolbar
- Sidebar
- Sign Up for the Omni Newsletter
- Smaller
- Sort Outline/Sort Selected Rows
- Speech
- Spelling
- Stage Manager (Mac)
- Start Audio Recording/End Audio Recording
- Start Dictation
- Strikethrough
- Styles
- System Search
- Text
- Underline
- Undo
- Unfocus
- Ungroup
- Use Typewriter Mode
- Writing Direction
- Writing Tools
- Zoom
- Zoom Window
About OmniOutliner
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Document Browser Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
View details about your copy of OmniOutliner.
This is good for checking exactly which version you’re using, which can be very helpful when contacting our Support Humans.
Some versions of this screen also include a link to write a review on the App Store.
See also About OmniOutliner in The Toolbar chapter.
Add Above
Available on iPad in the Organize Menu
Insert a row above the current row.
Though it is not listed in the Organize Menu on iPad, the keyboard shortcut for Add Row also works.
- Return to add a row below the current row
- Shift+Return to add a row above the current row
See Add Row.
See also Add Above in The Toolbar chapter.
Add Column
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac in the Organize Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Toolbar
Inserts a new Column after the currently selected column.
See also Add Column in The Toolbar chapter.
Add Document-Specific Toolbar/Remove Document-Specific Toolbar
Available on Mac in the View Menu
This allows you to create a Toolbar specifically for the document you’re working on. For example, the tools you need for writing a script might be totally different from the tools you use to create invoices. After creating a document-specific Toolbar, you might want to Save as Template, so you don’t have to recreate that Toolbar again.
Add Inside
Available on Mac, iPad in the Organize Menu
Inserts and indents a new row beneath the current row, resulting in the new row being one level lower in the hierarchy.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+}
See Hierarchy.
See also Add Inside/Add Child in The Toolbar chapter.
Add Outside
Available on Mac, iPad in the Organize Menu
Inserts and outdents a new row beneath the current row, resulting in the new row being one level higher in the hierarchy.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+{
See Hierarchy.
See also Add Outside/Add Aunt in The Toolbar chapter.
Add Row
Available on Mac in the Organize Menu
Insert a row beneath the current row.
- Return to add a row below the current row
- Shift+Return to add a row above the current row
By default, Return adds a row beneath the current row, and Shift+Return adds a row above the current row.
On Mac, this can be changed in Keyboard Settings, by selecting the other option for When Pressing Return.
See also Add Row/New Row in The Toolbar chapter.
Apply Template Theme
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Opens the Template Picker so you can choose and apply a template theme to the current document.
See also Apply Theme in The Toolbar chapter.
Attach File
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Available on Mac in the The Toolbar
For iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro, please see Attachments in The Toolbar chapter.
You can attach related files to your OmniOutliner document. These may be images, video clips, PDF files, or even another OmniOutliner document.
There are several ways to attach a file:
- Use this Attach File… command, located in the Edit Menu
- Click the
![]()
Attach button in the toolbar - Click the
![]()
Action Menu
in the toolbar,
and select Attach File…
Attach button in the toolbar
When using any of these methods, you are presented with a standard Open window, which allows you to navigate through your Mac’s hard drive until you locate the file you’d like to attach.
At the bottom of this window, there are two options that affect how the file is attached to your OmniOutliner document:
- Embed the file in the document — The default. A copy of the file you attach is embedded within the OmniOutliner document you are working with.
- Create a link to the file — Instead of embedding an exact duplicate of the file, this links the location of the file on your Mac’s hard drive into the OmniOutliner document.
If you are only using this document on a single Mac, or are syncing it with another Mac which contains exactly the same file structure, linking will allow you to work with an external file without needing to sync the attached file.
If you are using this document on multiple devices, with different file structures, embedding the external file allows you to access it on all supported devices.
If you are linking to an OmniOutliner document, please read about the Copy Omni Link for another option.
In addition to the methods above, you can also drag and drop files or images from almost anywhere on your Mac, including files from a Finder window, or images from a webpage. By default, these items will be embedded in your document; press Control while dragging, to instead add a link to the item.
When you attach an image or PDF file, a preview automatically scales to the width of the column in which it appears. Other types of files appear as an icon with their filename.
If you click an image or PDF file, you have options to:
- Select between Show as Image or Show as Icon.
- Change the Display name for the attachment from the filename to something more descriptive.
- Open with the default app for the attachment type.
- Resize the attachments.
- Save changes by clicking Done.
If you click on a non-image or PDF file, you have options to:
- Change the Display name for the attachment from the filename to something more descriptive.
- Open with the default app for the attachment type.
- Save changes by clicking Done.
If you Control + click on an attachment, you will see the Attachment Shortcut Menu.
Audio Recording
See also Audio Recording in The Toolbar chapter.
Start Audio Recording/End Audio Recording
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Add an Audio Recording to your document. Select this item again to end recording.
Pause Audio Recording/Resume Audio Recording
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Pause your in-progress Audio Recording. Select this item again to resume recording.
Automation
See also Automation in The Toolbar chapter.
Automation API Reference (Pro)
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Command may also be named API Reference or Show Automation Reference
Available on Mac, iPad in the Automation Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Automation menu
Learn more about what you can do with Omni Automation in OmniOutliner by viewing the available classes along with their constructors, functions, and properties.
- Shift+Command+0 on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Automation Configuration (Pro)
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Command may also be named Configure… or Manage Plug-Ins
Available on Mac, iPad in the Automation Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Automation menu
Opens Automation Configuration, where you can add, remove, and manage your Omni Automation Plug-Ins, as well as change scripting-related security settings.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Option+Command+, on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
To learn more about scripting OmniOutliner, and to browse a library of Plug-Ins, visit the Omni Automation website:
Automation Console (Pro)
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Command may also be named Show Console or Show Automation Console
Available on Mac, iPad in the Automation Menu
Available on Mac in the top toolbar
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Automation menu
Opens the Omni Automation Console, for automation development and testing.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+C on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
See also Show Console in The Toolbar chapter.
AutoFill
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
This is a system-provided command which allows automatically filling information from contacts, credit cards, user names and passwords, and some other forms.
It is available on macOS 14 or later, iOS 17 or later, iPadOS 17 or later, and visionOS 1 or later.
To learn more, please read these Apple User Guide articles:
Baseline
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Adjust the baseline of body text:
- Use Default — Places selected text at the same level as body text.
- Superscript — Move selected text above the body text.
- Subscript — Move selected text below the body text.
- Raise — Move selected text up.
- Lower — Move selected text down.
Bigger/Increase Font Size
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on iPad in The Toolbar
Increase the size of the selected note text.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command++
Compare Smaller.
See also Increase Font Size in The Toolbar chapter.
Bold
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
Apply or remove the bold style to the selected text, row, or document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+B
Bring All to Front
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
Brings all open OmniOutliner windows in front of any other application windows that are currently open on your Mac.
Center Window
Available on Mac, iPad in the Window Menu
Center the frontmost window.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Fn+Control+C on Mac, iPad
Check for Updates
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu (Direct Download version only)
See if there is a new version of OmniOutliner available to download.
You can also configure automatic checking in Update Settings.
Versions of OmniOutliner from the App Store use Apple’s process for updates.
Clear Console (Pro)
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac in the Automation Menu
Clears the Automation Console display.
Clear Style
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on Mac in the Sidebar Styles Tab
Removes any non-structural styles that have been applied to the selection, along with any styles applied to text within the selection.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Command+Delete
See also Copy Style and Paste Style.
Close (Window)
Available on Mac, iPad in the File Menu
Available on iPad in the Window Menu
Close the current window.
On Mac, you may be prompted to save documents, depending on your settings for Ask to keep changes when closing documents and Close windows when quitting an application in System Settings for Desktop & Dock > Windows
On iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro, changes are automatically saved.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+W
Close All (Windows)
Available on Mac, iPad in the File Menu
Close all open windows.
You may be prompted to save documents, depending on your settings for Ask to keep changes when closing documents and Close windows when quitting an application in System Settings for Desktop & Dock > Windows
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+W
Columns
Available on Mac in the View Menu
There are two sections to this submenu. The top section determines how the Topic column width is determined, and the bottom section allows you to hide or show specific columns.
Top section:
- Show All Columns — Displays all of columns in your OmniOutliner document. This option is only available if one or more columns have been hidden.
- Autosize Topic — When checked, the Topic column will resize based on the width of the window and other columns; when unchecked, it will stay at a fixed width, regardless of other changes.
Bottom section:
- Note — Hide or show the Notes column.
- Topic — The Topic column cannot be hidden; it is always viewable.
- All other columns — Each additional column can be hidden or shown.
Since you can change the default name of the column heading from Topic to anything else, the options you see in the Columns submenu will reflect the titles you’ve assigned to the column headings, including text or any Emoji characters you may have used.
See also Columns in The Toolbar chapter.
Column Headers
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Choose whether column headers are displayed, using one of these options:
- Show — Displays all column headings.
- Automatic — Displays column headings if there are two or more columns in your document.
- Hide — Hides all column headings.
Collapse
Hide rows that are currently showing.
Collapse Row(s)
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Collapses the currently selected row or rows.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Left Arrow
- Command+0
Compare Expand Row(s)
Collapse Row(s) Completely
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Collapses the currently selected row or rows, along with any child rows.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+0
Compare Expand Row(s) Completely
Collapse All
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Collapse all the rows in your document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Command+0
Compare Expand All
See also Collapse All in The Toolbar chapter.
Configure OmniPresence
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
Tap to connect an OmniPresence cloud synced folder to your device.
Documents in this folder are automatically synced to the cloud whenever a change is made.
You can sync with a free Omni Sync Server account, or an OmniPresence-capable WebDAV server of your choice.
See also Configure OmniPresence in The Toolbar chapter.
Connected Folders
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
Configure your
Connected Folders,
by either updating the settings for the built-in
iCloud Drive
folder,
or by
Adding a Connected Folder
of your own.
See also Copy Omni Link
See also Connected Folders in The Toolbar chapter.
Contact Omni
Available on Mac in the Help Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
Use this command to Email Support, while including information about the version you’re running, which operating system you’re running it on, and what type of license you have, which helps us quickly assist you.
If you see a “The operation couldn’t be completed. Not authorized to send Apple events to Mail.” error when you select Contact Omni, you can grant OmniOutliner authorization to send email.
Open System Settings, then navigate to Privacy & Security > Automation, and click on the disclosure arrow next to OmniOutliner to view additional options. Make sure that Mail is turned on (along with any other apps that you would like), then select Contact Omni again.
See also Contact Omni in The Toolbar chapter.
Copy
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu Available in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Copies the selected text, image, or row, while saving it on the clipboard, so you can paste the selection somewhere else.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+C
See also Copy in The Toolbar chapter.
Copy Omni Link
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Document Title Menu
Compare Copy Legacy Link.
See
Connected Folders
and
Omni Links.
See also Document Title Menu in The Toolbar chapter.
Copy Legacy Link
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
See
Connected Folders
and
Legacy Links.
Contrast Copy Omni Link
Copy Style
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on Mac in the Sidebar Styles Tab
Copies the style of the current selection and places it on the Clipboard.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+C
The Copy Style and Paste Style options are very useful for cleaning up your document. Once you have a row styled the way you’d like, you can select Copy Style select the other rows that you’d like to have the same style, and then select Paste Style.
See also Clear Style and Paste Style.
Customize Toolbar
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Choose this option if you want to customize the Toolbar for all OmniOutliner documents.
See also Document-Specific Toolbar
Cut
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Available on Mac in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Removes the selected text, image, or row,
while saving it on the clipboard,
so you can paste the selection somewhere else.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+X
See also Cut in The Toolbar chapter.
Delete
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Remove the selected item(s) or text from your document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+Delete
Compare Cut.
See also Delete in The Toolbar chapter.
Delete Style
Available on Mac in the Sidebar Styles Tab
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Edit Styles sub-inspector
Deletes the currently selected Named Style.
Deselect All
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Clear your selection completely, so that nothing is selected.
This can be helpful when you’re not sure whether something is selected, you’re about to paste something in, and want to make sure you don’t paste over a selection.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+A
See also Select All
Duplicate File
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Create an identical copy of the current document.
The exact contents of the current window are copied into a new document window, with the filename in the title bar highlighted, so you can enter a different name for the new file.
The duplicate file will be saved in the same location as the original.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+S
Duplicate Style
Available on Mac in the Sidebar Styles Tab
Creates an identical copy of the currently selected Named Style.
Duplicate Selection
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Copy and paste the current selection, creating an identical copy of the selected item.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+D
Edit Attachment Properties
Available on Mac in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
This dialog allows you to:
- Select between Show as Icon or Show as Image, for images and PDF attachments only.
- Change the Display name for the attachment from the filename to something more descriptive.
- Open with the default app for the attachment type.
- Resize the attachment, for images and PDF attachments only.
- Save changes by clicking Done.
This dialog is also available by clicking directly on the attachment.
Edit Note
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Edit the note for the currently selected row or column cell.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+‘
See also Add Note in The Toolbar chapter.
Emoji & Symbols
Command may also be named Emoji
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Open the Character Viewer to insert emoji, or other special characters.
More information about the Character Viewer is available in this Apple User Guides article:
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Control+Command+Space bar
- Fn
- Fn+E
Set Password
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Opens a window for configuring or removing document encryption, for the current outline.
To learn more, see Encryption in the Inspectors chapter.
Enter Full Screen/Exit Full Screen
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
View OmniOutliner using your full screen, allowing you to focus on your work without other distractions, or return to a single window view.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Command+F
Expand
Show rows that are currently hidden.
Expand Row(s)
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Expand the currently selected row or rows.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Right Arrow
- Command+9
Compare Collapse Row(s)
Expand Row(s) Completely
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Expands the currently selected row or rows, along with any child rows.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+9
Compare Collapse Row(s) Completely
Expand All
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Expand all the rows in your document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Command+9
Compare Collapse All.
See also Expand All in The Toolbar chapter.
Export/Export As…
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Document Title Menu
Export your OmniOutliner document to one of the following formats mentioned in Exporting from OmniOutliner.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+E
See also Document Title Menu in The Toolbar chapter.
Fill Window
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
Operating system command which expands the front OmniOutliner window to fill the screen.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Fn+Control+F on Mac
Filter/Go to Filter Field
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Places the cursor in the toolbar Filter field.
This command has no effect if the Filter Button has been removed from The Toolbar by Customizing the Toolbar. to remove the Filter field.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+F
See also Filter in The Toolbar chapter.
Find
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
The Find submenu contains the standard Find commands found in many applications:
- Go to Filter Field — Places the cursor in the toolbar Filter field.
- Find… — Opens the Find dialog. Use the Find dialog to search for instances of a keyword in the document. If an instance is found, it will be highlighted in the row or note text where it appears (column headers are not searched). You can also use the Replace command to overwrite one or more instances of the search term.
- Find and Replace — Opens the Find & Replace dialog, only on iPad; on Mac, use the Find… dialog.
- Find Next — Find the next instance.
- Find Previous — Find the previous instance.
- Use Selection for Find — Uses the current selection as the search criteria when using Find. You can use this option before or after opening the Find dialog
Unlike using the Filter field in the Toolbar, which filters what you see in the Outline, the Find dialog searches all visible fields, and highlights results. This allows you to browse through results, until you find what you need.
The Find dialog on Mac supports the use of regular expressions to match more complex text strings and combinations. See the NSRegularExpression developer documentation for details regarding the regex syntax, including a list of supported characters and operators.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Command+F for Find… on Mac
- Command+G for Find Next on Mac
- Shift+Command+G for Find Previous on Mac
- Command+E for Use Selection for Find on Mac
Focus/Unfocus
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Focus on the currently selected row(s) and any indented rows, by hiding everything else in your OmniOutliner document.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Shift+Command+F to Focus
- Option+Shift+Command+F to Unfocus
Remove an assigned Focus, showing all rows in the document.
Font
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
Change the typeface and style of your text.
Full Screen Tile
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
These menu commands are provided by the operating system, and may include:
- Left of Screen
- Right of Screen
- Replace Tiled Window
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide articles:
Group
Available on Mac, iPad in the Organize Menu
Indents the selected rows, grouping them together under a new parent row.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+G
Compare Ungroup
See also Group in The Toolbar chapter.
Hide Column
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Hides the selected column, or the column where editing is currently in progress.
Hide OmniOutliner
Available on Mac, iPad in the OmniOutliner Menu
Temporarily hide all OmniOutliner windows.
To bring OmniOutliner back into view, either click the app icon in the Dock, or use Command+Tab to use the macOS application switcher.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+H
Hide Others
Available on Mac, iPad in the OmniOutliner Menu
Temporarily hide windows of all other applications, so you can concentrate on OmniOutliner.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+H
In-App Purchases
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu (App Store version only)
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in License Settings
Open the In-App Purchases window to unlock OmniOutliner features by purchasing either the Essentials or Pro edition of the app, or restoring a previous purchase.
Indent/Outdent
Available on Mac, iPad in the Organize Menu
Indents or outdents the current row.
- Indent — Moves the selected row to the right, ignoring any parents or children.
- Outdent — Moves the selected row to the left, ignoring any parents or children.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+] for Indent
- Command+[ for Outdent
Depending on your setting for When Pressing Tab on Mac, or Tab Navigates Between Cells on iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro, you may also be able to use:
- Tab for Indent
- Shift+Tab for Outdent
Contrast Move Up, Down, Left, Right
See also Indent and Outdent in The Toolbar chapter.
Inspectors
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Use this submenu to navigate between tabs in the Inspector:
See also Inspectors in The Toolbar chapter.
Insert from iPhone or iPad
Available on Mac in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
This system command allows you to take a photo, scan documents, or add a sketch, using your iPhone or iPad.
With a connected device, each of these options may display as a separate command.
To learn more, please read the Apple User Guide article:
Insert Line Break
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad in The Toolbar
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Keyboard shortcut available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro
Inserts a line break inside of the current row, at the location of your cursor.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Return
Compare Split Row.
See When Pressing Return.
See also Insert Line Break in The Toolbar chapter.
Insert Time Stamp
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Insert one of the following timestamps on the current row, using the format from Language & Region Settings in System Settings:
- Short Date — Inserts a localized numerical date, such as 10/05/2013.
- Long Date — Inserts a localized textual date, such as October 5, 2013.
- Time — Inserts a localized numerical time, such as 12:34:56 PM.
- Short Date and Time — Inserts a localized numerical date and time, such as 10/05/2013 12:34 PM.
- Long Date and Time — Inserts a localized textual date and time, such as October 5, 2013 12:34:56 PM PDT.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Command+/ for Short Date
- Option+Command+/ for Long Date
- Shift+Command+@ for Time
- Shift+Command+| for Short Date and Time
- Option+Shift+Command+| for Long Date and Time
Installed Plug-Ins (Pro)
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac, iPad in the Automation Menu
Any Omni Automation Plug-Ins which you have installed are displayed in a list at the top of the menu. Choose one of them from the list to run the plug-in.
See also Omni Automation Plug-Ins in The Toolbar chapter.
Italic
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
Apply or remove the italic style to the selected text, row, or document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+I
Link
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Add a hyperlink URL to selected text, or create a link attached to new text (the default display title for a new link is Link).
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+K
Keep Sorted
Available on Mac in the Organize Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Column Header Menu
Select an option from this submenu to update the displayed order of rows in your document.
These options do not change the actual structure of your outline, just the display order. Contrast Sort Outline/Sort Selected Rows.
If you are using Row Numbering and select one of these options, your rows may display numbering in non-sequential order (since rows aren’t actually being reordered, just moved around visually).
- Clear Sorting — Removes any currently selected sorting. This is useful when you want to restore the original ordering of your rows, or sort a document using another method.
- Notes, A-Z — Sorts the contents of the document in alphabetical (A-Z) order, based on the Note contents for each row.
- Notes, Z-A — Sorts the contents of the document in reverse alphabetical (Z-A) order, based on the Note contents for each row.
- Status, Unchecked to Checked — Sorts the contents of the document based the state of the Status Checkboxes, from unchecked to checked.
- Status, Checked to Unchecked — Sorts the contents of the document based the state of the Status Checkboxes, from checked to unchecked.
- Topic, A-Z — Sorts the contents of the document in alphabetical (A-Z) order, based on the Topic contents for each row.
- Topic, Z-A — Sorts the contents of the document in reverse alphabetical (Z-A) order, based on the Topic contents for each row.
Kern
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Adjust spacing between characters:
- Use Default — Automatically adjust spacing between selected characters.
- Use None — Turn off spacing adjustments between selected characters.
- Tighten — Reduce the spacing between selected characters.
- Loosen — Increase the spacing between selected characters.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Opens the Keyboard Shortcuts window, to create and manage custom shortcut sets.
License
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
The License window allows you to manage your OmniOutliner licenses, while providing quick access to your Omni Account.
Select the Omni Account button to open the Omni Account window, or select the Sign In button to begin, and then enter your Omni Account information.
- If you already have a license for OmniOutliner 6, the application will be unlocked.
- If this is the first time you have signed in to OmniOutliner 6, you will automatically begin a free two-week trial. You can select the Buy License button to learn more about pricing, and purchase a new or upgrade license.
Once you are signed in to your Omni Account, you can select:
- Edit Account… to visit the Manage Your Omni Account website.
- Sign Out to remove your Omni Account from this application.
- Close Account to request closure of your Omni Account.
Accidentally tapping the Close Account button will not close your account. An email is automatically sent to the registered email address for the Omni Account, requesting confirmation. If you accidentally tap the button, simply ignore that email.
If you are signed into a Site License, the Omni Account window will offer you options to either Renew Session or Remove License.
If you have an OmniOutliner 6 Pro license, or are in your free two-week trial, you can toggle the Turn on Pro features setting. This allows you to choose between the OmniOutliner Essentials and OmniOutliner Pro feature sets, either to see which edition is best for your needs, or to easily create Essentials-compatible documents.
See also License in The Toolbar chapter.
Ligature
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Adjust the use of ligatures to join two characters, in the selected text:
- Use Default — Use the default ligatures from the font you are using.
- Use None — Use none of the available ligatures from the font you are using.
- Use All — Use all available ligatures from the font you are using.
LinkBack
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
LinkBack supports embedding content from one applications in another application, in a way that allows editing the embedded content with the original app.
For example, let’s say that you’ve used LinkBack to include some information from OmniGraffle in one of your OmniOutliner documents. To edit the OmniGraffle content that’s linked to from your OmniOutliner document:
- Double-click the OmniGraffle content in your OmniOutliner document.
- This opens an OmniGraffle window containing that content.
- Edit the content in the OmniGraffle window, as you normally would.
- In OmniGraffle, choose File > Save.
- The content in the OmniOutliner window updates automatically.
This makes it easy for you to round trip content shared by LinkBack apps without having to update the content in two different places. For more information about LinkBack, see the LinkBack repository on GitHub.
- Edit LinkBack Item — If you have pasted LinkBack content from another app, select the object and use this command to edit the content in the original app.
- Remove LinkBack for Item — Selecting this option removes the LinkBack feature from the selected content so that this content is unaware of its source, and is treated like any other attachment of the same file type.
Compare this to Connected Folders
Look Up
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
This is a system-provided command which allows you to look up information about the selected text, either online or on device.
To learn more, please read this Apple User Guide article:
Though this article is for Mac, the information also applies to other platforms.
Merge All Windows
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
Merge all currently open OmniOutliner documents into a single window with multiple tabs.
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide article:
Minimize Window
Available on Mac, iPad in the Window Menu
Shrink the front OmniOutliner window down into the Dock.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+M
Move Up, Down, Left, Right
Available on Mac, iPad in the Organize Menu
Use the following commands to move rows in your document.
These commands rearrange the currently selected rows in the Outline, without affecting deselected items.
- Move Up — Moves the selected row up one row, along with its children.
- Move Down — Moves the selected row down one row, along with its children.
- Move Left — Moves the selected row to the left, along with its children. The row becomes a sibling of its former parent.
- Move Right — Moves the selected row to the right, along with its children. The row becomes a child of the row immediately above.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Control+Command+Up Arrow for Move Up
- Control+Command+Down Arrow for Move Down
- Control+Command+Left Arrow for Move Left
- Control+Command+Right Arrow for Move Right
Contrast Indent/Outdent
See also Move Down, Move Left, Move Right, and Move Up in The Toolbar chapter.
Move and Resize
Available on Mac, iPad in the Window Menu
Operating system commands to move and resize windows in the app.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Fn+Control+Left Arrow for Left on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Right Arrow for Right on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Up Arrow for Top on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Down Arrow for Bottom on Mac, iPad
- No shortcut for Top Left on Mac, iPad
- No shortcut for Top Right on Mac, iPad
- No shortcut for Bottom Left on Mac, iPad
- No shortcut for Bottom Right on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Shift+Left Arrow for Left & Right on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Shift+Right Arrow for Right & Left on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Shift+Up Arrow for Top & Bottom on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+Shift+Down Arrow for Bottom & Top on Mac, iPad
- No shortcut for Quarters on Mac, iPad
- Fn+Control+R for Return to Previous Size on Mac
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide articles:
Though these articles are for Mac, most of the commands and shortcuts are also available on iPad.
Move Tab to New Window
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
With multiple OmniOutliner documents open in tabs of the same window, move the current tab to a new OmniOutliner window.
Move To
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Choose this option to open a window, which allows you to quickly change the location your file is stored.
Move to Display
Available on Mac, iPad in the Window Menu
This sends the front most window to the selected display; it only appears if you have an external monitor or iPad connected.
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide article:
Named Styles
Available on iPad in the Format Menu
Apply any of the Named Styles in the document.
See Apply Named Styles With for Mac, and Show Keyboard Shortcuts in Inspectors for iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro.
New
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Depending on the For New Documents setting, either open the Resource Browser, or create a new document based on your default template.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+N
New Filter
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Save (as) Filter
Available on Mac in the View Menu
New from Template
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Open the Template Picker.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+N
New Named Style/Add Named Style
Available on Mac in the Sidebar Styles Tab
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Edit Styles sub-inspector
Creates a new Named Style, ready for configuration.
New Window
Available on iPad in the Window Menu
Open a new OmniOutliner window.
See also Show All Windows
New Window on Document/New Tab on Document
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
News
Available on Mac in the Help Menu
View the latest information from the Omni Group about changes to OmniOutliner or Apple’s operating systems that may affect your use of the app.
This item only appears when there is news to share.
Notes
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Choose how you want the Notes in your OmniOutliner file to appear:
- Display Inline — Notes appear inline, with the rest of your content.
- Display in Pane — Notes appear in a separate pane, at the bottom of the window.
OmniOutliner Help
Available on Mac in the Help Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
View this help documentation.
See also OmniOutliner Help in The Toolbar chapter.
OmniOutliner Windows
Available on Mac, iPad in the Window Menu
At the bottom of the Window menu is a list of all of your open OmniOutliner windows; choose one to bring it to the front.
Open
Available on Mac, iPad in the File Menu
Open an existing file.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+O
Open Recent
Available on Mac, iPad in the File Menu
OmniOutliner keeps track of recently opened files, and includes the filenames in this menu.
Select a file to quickly reopen it, and continue your work.
Open Scripts Folder (Pro)
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac in the Help Menu
Open the designated Finder folder for storing AppleScript scripts that you want to access from the toolbar.
Adding Scripts to OmniOutliner
You can install scripts into a special folder on your hard drive to add them to your OmniOutliner Toolbar, where they can be clicked just like other Toolbar buttons.
To install the scripts in the proper folder, choose Help > Open Scripts Folder and drop in the scripts you want to access frequently. Any scripts you drop here can appear in OmniOutliner’s Toolbar.
Switch back to OmniOutliner, and select View > Customize Toolbar. Alongside the regular OmniOutliner buttons we provide are all the AppleScripts in your Scripts folder. Drag the scripts you want to use up to the Toolbar in your document window. Make any other changes you want to make, then click the Done button.
(As an aside, if you change a script’s icon in the Finder, the updated icon will be displayed here, as well. This is useful if you have multiple scripts installed and want to tell them apart without needing to read the labels.)
Open With
Available on Mac in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
This command typically appears twice in the menu: one time using the default app for the attachment, and one time with options for other apps that can open the attachment.
Open with Default.app opens the selected attachment using the default app.
If the attachment is an image, the command will likely display as Open with Preview.app, which opens the selected image using Preview.
Open with lists other apps on your system that can also open the selected attachment.
To learn more about setting a default app, please see the Apple User Guide article:
To learn more about using Preview.app, please read the Apple User Guide for Preview.
Outline
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Apply or remove the outline style to the selected note text.
Page Setup
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Open the standard macOS Page Setup window, where you can change some settings for printing or exporting to a PDF file. These settings are saved even when you quit OmniOutliner.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+P
Paste
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Pastes whatever is on the Clipboard at the current insertion point or selection. Content pasted from external sources matches the surrounding OmniOutliner style by default; to retain any original text styles, choose Paste with Original Style instead.
If you cut or copy text that has line breaks from another app, and paste that into a row, all the text appears on a single row with line breaks intact. If you want each line to appear as a row, first select a row (by clicking or tapping in the gutter), and then paste.
When copying and pasting text within OmniOutliner, all formatting is retained.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+V
See also Paste in The Toolbar chapter.
Paste and Merge Styles
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
By default, OmniOutliner attempts to Merge Styles when pasting text copied from outside of the app.
This paste method preserves only essential styles such as bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, subscript or superscript, ligatures, and writing direction, as well as links with titles, and attachments.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Option+Shift+Command+V on Mac
Paste and Match Style
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
This paste method discards all formatting, including the URL for links with titles, and matches the style of the note into which you are pasting.
You can use this paste method as your default by changing the setting for Pasting from Other Apps.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Shift+Command+V on Mac
Paste with Original Style
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Row Shortcut Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
This paste method preserves all original formatting, and ignores the style of the note into which you are pasting.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Shift+Command+V on Mac
Paste Style
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on Mac in the Sidebar Styles Tab
Pastes the previously copied style onto the current selection.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+V
The Copy Style and Paste Style options are very useful for cleaning up your document. Once you have a row styled the way you’d like, you can select Copy Style select the other rows that you’d like to have the same style, and then select Paste Style.
See also Copy Style and Clear Style
Preview/Quick Look Attachment
Available in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Displays a preview of the selected image without leaving OmniFocus.
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Document Title Menu
Opens the print panel, where you can customize the appearance of your outline for printing or PDF export.
To learn more, see Printing in OmniOutliner.
- Command+P
See also Print in The Toolbar chapter.
Quit OmniOutliner
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Stop using OmniOutliner and put it away for now.
You may be prompted to save documents, depending on your settings for Ask to keep changes when closing documents and Close windows when quitting an application in System Settings for Desktop & Dock > Windows
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+Q
Quit and Close All Windows
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Stop using OmniOutliner, and close all windows. The next time you open OmniOutliner, you will have only a single window open.
You may be prompted to save documents, depending on your settings for Ask to keep changes when closing documents and Close windows when quitting an application in System Settings for Desktop & Dock > Windows
Keyboard shortcut:
- Options+Command+Q
Redo
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Re-create the most recent change that you just used Undo to reverse. You can keep redoing edits, allowing you to return to a later point in time.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Shift+Command+Z
Compare Undo
See also Redo in The Toolbar chapter.
Release Notes
Available on Mac in the Help Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
Read the release notes for the current version of OmniOutliner.
See also Release Notes in The Toolbar chapter.
Remove Column
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac in the Organize Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Column Header Menu
Removes the selected column.
See also Remove Column in The Toolbar chapter.
Rename
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Document Title Menu
Choose this option to rename the document.
See also Document Title Menu in The Toolbar chapter.
Resize Image
Available in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Adds resizing handles to the corners of the selected image. Drag the handles to resize, while maintaining the original aspect ratio.
Tap or click outside of the image to end resizing. If you are using a hardware keyboard, you can also press Return or Esc.
Reveal in Finder
Available on Mac in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Show the selected image in Finder, with the file selected for further management.
Revert To
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Opens Time Machine, so you can walk back through earlier versions of the current document, as well as restore from those versions.
To learn more, see this Apple User Guide article:
Row Filters
Available on Mac in the View Menu
This submenu allows you to apply any saved filters, which are also available in the Filters Tab of the Sidebar, or create a
provides the option to create a new saved filter for your outline, and lists any other saved filters you have already created (just like the
Row Numbering
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
The options in this submenu are used to assign a row numbering style to part or all of your document, and are split into two parts.
The upper section of the menu determines the style of numbering to use as the prefix for the rows in your document:
- None — Rows in your document are not numbered.
- 1, 2, 3, 4, … — Rows in your document are numbered sequentially, starting with 1.
- A, B, C, D, … — Rows in your document are lettered sequentially, using uppercase letters, starting with A.
- a, b, c, d, … — Rows in your document are lettered sequentially, using lowercase letters, starting with a.
- I, II, III, IV, … — Rows in your document are numbered sequentially, using uppercase Roman numerals, starting with I.
- i, ii, iii, iv, … — Rows in your document are numbered sequentially, using lowercase Roman numerals, starting with i.
- 1, 1.1, 1.1.1, … — Rows in your document are numbered sequentially, using section numbering, starting with 1 for the parent row, 1.1 for the next level of indented rows, and so on.
If you select a style other than None, the styles in the lower section can also be applied to the row number; for example 1.1.1., 1.1.1), or (1.1.1), respectively.
Choose from these formatting options:
- No Prefix or Suffix — The chosen row number style is presented without prefix or suffix. Example: 1.1.2.
- x. — This places a period after the chosen row number style. Example: 1.1.2..
- x) — This places a closing parenthesis after the chosen row number style. Example: 1.1.2).
- (x) — This places row numbers in parenthesis. Example: (1.1.2).
Save
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Save the contents of the current document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+S
Save As
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Save your current document in one of the following formats, which are described in Exporting from OmniOutliner:
- OmniOutliner Document
- OmniOutliner Template
- OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language)
Your current document will be updated to the new format, and remain open, allowing you to keep editing.
The format of document that you were previously editing remains in the same location it was originally saved, so you can return to that format in the future.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Shift+Command+S
Save As Template/Create Template from Outline
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Document Title Menu
Saves the current file as an OmniOutliner template file.
For more on using templates, see Managing and Working with Templates.
See also Document Title Menu in The Toolbar chapter.
Save to Camera Roll
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Save the selected image to your Photos library.
Search Web
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
This is a system-provided command which allows you to search the web for the selected text.
Select
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Select the image for further editing.
Select All
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Select all visible rows in the outline, or if you are editing text, all text in the cell.
Note that collapsed/hidden rows are not selected.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+A
Services
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Access system-wide macOS services offered by other applications.
To learn more, please read the Apple User Guide article:
Set Status
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Set one of these options for status checkbox on selected row(s):
- Checked — Mark the status checkbox completed.
- Unchecked — Mark the status checkbox uncompleted.
- Calculated — Calculate the value of the status checkbox.
- None — Hide the status checkbox.
Assigning a status of Checked or Unchecked to a parent row also assigns that status to all child rows. If you want a parent row to reflect the status of child rows, instead of setting their status, select Calculated. This option is only available for parent rows with a current status of None, and at least one child set to either Checked or Unchecked. Once selected, the parent row will display as:
- Checked — If all children are Checked.
- Unchecked — If all children at Unchecked
- Mixed — If some children are Checked, and others are Unchecked.
Settings
Available on Mac, iPad in the OmniOutliner Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
Open
Settings,
where you can customize how the application works for you.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+,
See also Settings in The Toolbar chapter.
Share
Available on Mac in the File Menu
Available on Mac, iPhone in The Toolbar
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Opens a system menu containing options to share either selected items,
or the open document (iPhone only),
to another application.
Choose from a list of available destination applications, or select Edit Extensions… (on Mac) or More (on iPhone) to customize the available options.
Selected rows are shared as plain text. If you share the open document, you can choose from several formats; to learn more about available option, read Exporting from OmniOutliner.
See also Share in The Toolbar chapter.
Show All
Available on Mac in the OmniOutliner Menu
Show all windows, from all applications.
Show All Notes/Hide All Notes
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Show or hide all notes in your document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Command+‘
Show All Tabs/Exit Tab Overview
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Switch to a view that displays thumbnail views of each tab as a tile in the OmniOutliner window, or return to the standard full view.
Show All Windows
Available on iPad in the Window Menu
Operating system command to show all OmniOutliner windows.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Fn+Down Arrow on iPad
See also New Window
Show as Icon/Show as Image
Available on Mac in the Attachment Shortcut Menu
Select between displaying the attached image or PDF file as an icon, or an image preview of the attachment.
Show Colors/Hide Colors
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Show or hide the Colors window, to make adjustments to the selection color.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+C
See also Colors in The Toolbar chapter.
Show Fonts/Hide Fonts/More
Available on Mac in the Format Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
On Mac, show or hide the Fonts window from which you can choose a font, styling, and size.
On iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro, show the More… window, from which you can choose a font, styling, size, alignment, and color.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+T on Mac
See also Fonts in The Toolbar chapter.
Show Full Row Text
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Use these options for displaying text within a row:
- Always — The text in a row will always be visible, even when the cursor is in another row.
- When Editing — Text in the row is truncated at the end of the first line (rather than wrapping and continuing) when the row is not being edited. This is particularly helpful when you’ve imported text from another document, and you only want to see the text for the row you’re working on.
The option to truncate row text when rows are not being edited is a Pro-only feature otherwise known as Text Folding.
Show Inspector/Hide Inspector
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Show or hide the Inspectors, which contain the Selection Style Inspector and Document Inspector.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+I
Show Keyboard
Available on iPad in the Edit Menu
Show the on-screen keyboard.
Show Next Tab/Show Previous Tab
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
With multiple OmniOutliner documents open in tabs of the same window, navigate to the next or previous tab in the bar.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Tab to Show Next Tab
- Control+Shift+Tab to Show Previous Tab
Show Note(s)/Hide Note(s)
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Shows or hide notes on the selected rows.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+‘
See also Hide Note, Show Note, Hide All Notes, Show All Notes in The Toolbar chapter.
Show Note Pane/Hide Note Pane
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Shows or hides the note pane, if Display in Pane is selected in the Notes submenu.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+‘
Show Sidebar/Hide Sidebar
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Show or hide the Sidebar, which contains the Sections, Styles, and Filters tabs.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+1
Show Status Bar/Hide Status Bar
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Hides or shows the Status Bar, which contains the word count, character count, and row count.
Show Status Checkboxes/Hide Status Checkboxes
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Display or hide the clickable status checkboxes.
These are helpful when you have an outline that pertains to a project, and you want to tick things off as you go.
You can use the status checkboxes together with Sort Outline or Keep Sorted, to sort rows by checked or unchecked status boxes.
This option is available on iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro, using the Row Status toggle in the Document Inspector.
Show Tab Bar/Hide Tab Bar
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Show or hide the macOS tab bar on the current OmniOutliner window.
Show Toolbar/Hide Toolbar
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Show or hide the Toolbar at the top of your document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+T
Sidebar
Available on Mac in the View Menu
Use this submenu to navigate between tabs in the Sidebar:
See also Sidebar in The Toolbar chapter.
Sign Up for the Omni Newsletter
Available on Mac in the Help Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the OmniOutliner toolbar menu
Visit the Omni Newsletter web page, where you can subscribe to our email newsletter. You’ll get nothing but the latest news and tips for OmniOutliner and the other apps in the Omni Group family.
See also Omni Newsletter Signup in The Toolbar chapter.
Slide Over
Available on iPad in the Window Menu
Operating system commands to manage Slide Over windows.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Fn+Option+Left Arrow for Move to Left Slide Over
- Fn+Option+Right Arrow for Move to Right Slide Over
- Fn+\ for Hide Slide Over
- No shortcut for Exit Slide Over
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide articles:
Though these articles are for Mac, most of the commands and shortcuts are also available on iPad.
Smaller/Decrease Font Size
Available on iPad in The Toolbar
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Decrease the size of the selected note text.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+-
See Bigger
See also Decrease Font Size in The Toolbar chapter.
Sort Outline/Sort Selected Rows
Available on Mac in the Organize Menu
Select an option from this submenu to update the structural order of rows in your document.
These options change the order of the rows in your document, not just the display order. Contrast Keep Sorted.
If you have selected one or more rows, sorting affects the selected rows; if you do not have any selected rows, sorting affects the entire document.
Undo can be helpful, when using this command.
- Notes, A-Z — Sorts the contents of the document in alphabetical (A-Z) order, based on the Note contents for each row.
- Notes, Z-A — Sorts the contents of the document in reverse alphabetical (Z-A) order, based on the Note contents for each row.
- Status, Unchecked to Checked — Sorts the contents of the document based the state of the Status Checkboxes, from unchecked to checked.
- Status, Checked to Unchecked — Sorts the contents of the document based the state of the Status Checkboxes, from checked to unchecked.
- Topic, A-Z — Sorts the contents of the document in alphabetical (A-Z) order, based on the Topic contents for each row.
- Topic, Z-A — Sorts the contents of the document in reverse alphabetical (Z-A) order, based on the Topic contents for each row.
Speech
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
The Speech submenu supports having your Mac read selected text out loud.
- Start Speaking — Start reading the selection.
- Stop Speaking — Stop reading the selection.
A similar feature can be turned on for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, using Accessibility settings in the Settings app.
Spelling
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Choose one of the following options for checking spelling and grammar in your document:
- Show/Hide Spelling and Grammar — Opens the Spelling and Grammar window so you can check for any spelling or grammatical mistakes in the current document.
- Check Spelling Now — Checks the spelling in the current document.
- Check Spelling While Typing — Turned on by default, this option checks your spelling as you type. Any words you misspell get a red squiggle underneath, and macOS suggests up similar words from which you can select the correct spelling.
- Command+: for Show/Hide Spelling and Grammar
- Command+; for Check Spelling Now
Spelling and Grammar
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
The Spelling and Grammar submenu contains the standard macOS spell checking commands:
- Show Spelling and Grammar — Opens the Spelling and Grammar window, where you can check spelling and grammar, add words to your personal dictionary, get definitions for entered words, or have the spelling engine guess at a word for you.
- Check Document Now — Checks spelling in the open document.
- Check Spelling While Typing — Checks spelling while you are typing.
- Check Grammar With Spelling — Checks grammar at the same time spelling is checked.
- Correct Spelling Automatically — Automatically corrects spelling, instead of simple alerting you to the issue.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Command+: for Show/Hide Spelling and Grammar
- Command+; for Check Document Now
Split Row
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad in The Toolbar
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Keyboard shortcut available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro
Splits the current row at the location of your cursor, creating two rows from a single row.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Control+Return
See also Insert Line Break and When Pressing Return
See also Split Row in The Toolbar chapter.
Stage Manager (Mac)
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
This menu command is provided by the operating system:
- Remove Window from Set
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide article:
Start Dictation
Command may also be named Dictation
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
With dictation turned on for Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, select an editable text field and use this command to enter text by speaking.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Fn+D
A separate shortcut key can also be set in Keyboard System Settings.
Start Editing
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Begin editing the topic field of a selected row.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+Return
Strikethrough
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
Apply or remove the strikethrough style to the selected text, row, or document.
Substitutions
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
The Substitutions submenu allows you to choose which macOS text substitutions will be used in OmniOutliner.
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide article:
System Search
Available on Mac, iPad in the Help Menu
On Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, search OmniOutliner menu items in order to find a specific command.
On Mac, the same command will also search OmniOutliner Help (this document). Results appear as a list of menu items and help topics respectively.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Shift+Command+?
Text
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Alignment and direction options for text, images, and attachments.
Align or Justify
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Adjust the alignment of the row or column containing selected text:
- Align Left — Aligns text and objects to the left margin of the current row or column.
- Center — Aligns text and objects based on the midpoint of the current row or column.
- Justify — Evenly space the words in a row or column so that multiline text uses the full width of the column.
- Align Right — Aligns text and objects to the right margin of the current row or column.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- No shortcut for Align Left
- Command+| for Center
- No shortcut for Align Right
Writing Direction
Requires OmniOutliner Pro
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Adjust the writing direction of the selected text, or of the paragraph containing the selected text.
Paragraph:
- Default — Writing direction of paragraph matches the default for the selected language.
- Left to Right — Writing direction of paragraph is left-to-right. May override the selected language.
- Right to Left — Writing direction of paragraph is right-to-left. May override the selected language.
Selection:
- Default — Writing direction of selected text matches the default for the selected language. May override the above setting for Paragraph.
- Left to Right — Writing direction of selected text is left-to-right. May override the above setting for Paragraph.
- Right to Left — Writing direction of selected text is right-to-left. May override the above setting for Paragraph.
Transformations
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
The Transformations submenu contains commands that apply to selected text in the outline, sidebar, and inspector, to convert it to upper case, lowercase, or capitalize each selected word.
- Make Upper Case
- Make Lower Case
- Capitalize
Translate
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
This is a system-provided command which allows you to translate the selected text.
To learn more, please read this Apple User Guide article:
Though this article is for Mac, the information also applies to other platforms.
Underline
Available on Mac, iPad in the Format Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
Available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in The Inspectors
Apply or remove the underline style to the selected text, row, or document.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+U
Undo
Available on Mac, iPad in the Edit Menu
Reverse the most recent change that you made. You can keep undoing edits, allowing you to return to an earlier point in time.
You can use Redo to restore an edit that you have undone.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Command+Z
Compare Redo
See also Undo in The Toolbar chapter.
Ungroup
Available on Mac, iPad in the Organize Menu
Ungroup the rows of a selected group, turning the children of the parent row into sibling of the parent row.
The parent row can then be removed, if you choose.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Option+Command+U
Compare Group.
See also Ungroup in The Toolbar chapter.
Use Typewriter Mode
Available on Mac in the View Menu
By default, OmniOutliner keeps your scroll position static when you add a new row to an outline, or select a row other than the current one (until you reach the very bottom of the window).
Typewriter Mode detects when your selection moves above or below the center of the document window, and adjusts the scroll position. This keeps the row you select front and center, just like it would on a typewriter.
Writing Tools
Available on Mac in the Edit Menu
Available on iPad, iPhone, Apple Vision Pro in the Editing Shortcut Menu
To learn more about Writing Tools, please read these Apple User Guide articles:
Zoom Window
Available on Mac in the Window Menu
Operating system command to switch the front OmniOutliner window between the largest possible size, and the last size you set.
To learn more, read the Apple User Guide article:
Zoom
See also Zoom in The Toolbar chapter.
Zoom In
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Magnify the view of your document, up to 400 percent.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+>
Zoom Out
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Demagnify the view of your document, down to 50 percent.
Keyboard shortcut:
- Command+<
Zoom to Actual Size
Available on Mac, iPad in the View Menu
Scales your document back to 100 percent (normal size).