NeO Outliner 4+

Whenever a new MacOS is released, my biggest concern is the potential discontinuation of this invaluable application. As an academic writer, my work—and indeed my very thought processes—are inextricably linked to its functionality. While a more intuitive design would certainly be welcome, its current iteration remains indispensable and exemplary in its utility.

If you ever used the unfortunately long unavailable Thinktank MORE outliner, you understand what an unimpressive and overpriced morass the current breed of Mac outliners has become. NeO is in many ways a direct MORE clone; you’ll figure it out easily if you have that experience in your toolbag. If not, give it a shot anyway. The clone feature is invaluable and available in no other outline I have been able to find. You may struggle a bit getting going, but it is worth the effort. And think of the money you’ll save!

Imports and exports OPML faithfully, so you can give it a shot and not be stuck in it if it doesn’t suit your fancy. Now if there were only an IOS app to sync to. Sigh.

I'll take the word of other reviewers that the software is powerful, but it's so counterintuitive that i have given up on it. The now-standard behavior of Enter and Tab/Shift-Tab in most other outliners and programmer's editors don't work. Something as simple and common as adding a new item requires a two-key combination (Command-Down Arrow). The key bindings can be changed in Preferences, so if I didn't have other work to do I might (or might not) be able to make it behave in a more intuitive and useful way. Also, the Help isn't very helpful. ("Getting Started" just tells you how to install, uninstall, and launch it, but if you're reading that page the program is already installed and running, and uninstalling is a pessimistic thing to cover under "Getting Started.")

Don't get me wrong; NeO's advanced features sound great, its $10 price is low enough that I'm not too sorry I'm out the money, and I'm sure those who have climbed the learning curve (probably with mountaineering gear) are getting more than their money's worth. I'm sure in many respects it's a fine product. But as I said, I have actual work to do, and I'll gladly sacrifice some advanced features and a higher price for to get an outliner that meets my needs, is easy to learn and use, and has a free trial version.