*votl_readme.txt* For Vim version 7.2 Last change: 2014-09-28 *vo* *votl* *vimoutliner* VimOutliner 0.4.0 ~ VimOutliner is an outline processor designed with lighting fast authoring as the main feature, it also has many of the same features as Grandview, More, Thinktank, Ecco, etc. These features include tree expand/collapse, tree promotion/demotion, level sensitive colors, interoutline linking, checkboxes and body text. License |votl-license| Version |votl-version| Installing and testing VimOutliner |votl-install| Install via Pathogen |votl-pathogen-install| Legacy Script Driven Method |votl-auto-install| Updating |votl-updating| Manual method |votl-manual-install| Testing |votl-testing| Debian |votl-debian| Using VimOutliner on other file types |votl-other-files| Troubleshooting |votl-troubleshooting| VimOutliner philosophy |votl-philosophy| Running VimOutliner |votl-running| VimOutliner configuration file |vimoutlinerrc| Comma comma commands |votl-command| Basic VimOutliner activities |votl-activities| Menu |votl-menu| Vim Outliner objects |votl-objects| Post Processors |votl-post-processors| Advanced |votl-advanced| Executable Lines |votl-executable-lines| Plugins |votl-plugins| Checkboxes |votl-checkbox| Hoisting |votl-hoisting| Clock |votl-clock| Scripts |votl-scripts| votl_maketags.pl |votl-maketags| otl2html.py |otl2html| Other information |votl-other-info| ============================================================================== License *votl-license* VimOutliner Copyright (C) 2001, 2003 by Steve Litt Copyright (C) 2004, 2014 by Noel Henson Licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2 Absolutely no warranty, see COPYING file for details. HTML: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html Text: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.txt ============================================================================== Installing and Testing VimOutliner *votl-install* Install via Pathogen |votl-pathogen-install| Legacy Script Driven Method |votl-auto-install| Updating |votl-updating| Manual Method |votl-manual-install| Testing |votl-testing| *votl-pathogen-install* Install via Pathogen~ Preferred and most simple method of VimOutliner installation is using Pathogen (developers of VimOutliner actually believe that Pathogen (https://github.com/tpope/vim-pathogen), or Vundle, should be generally the preferred way of installation of any vim plugin). Installation with working Pathogen should be just $ cd ~/.vim/bundle # Or even better is to have whole ~/.vim/bundle as a separate repo # and then plugins are added as submodules. $ git clone git@github.com:vimoutliner/vimoutliner.git Restart vim and you should be good to go. If something does not€™t work, please, let us know (either on the email list or file a ticket to the GitHub issue tracker). *votl-auto-install* Legacy Script Driven Method~ The automatic installation targets Unix-compatible platforms: > From tar archive $ tar xzvf vimoutliner-0.3.x.tar.gz $ cd vimoutliner $ sh install.sh From zip archive $ unzip vimoutliner-0.3.x.zip $ cd vimoutliner-0.3.x $ sh install.sh < The install.sh script will ask you whether to install the VimOutliner files or abort the process leaving everything unchanged. Assuming you confirmed the installation, the script creates the necessary directory tree and copies the files which provide the core functionality and documentation. With the second question you decide whether you want to install some brand new add-ons, currently implementing hoisting and checkboxes. *votl-updating* Updating~ Updating an existing installation might require some manual work. If you are already working with a previous VimOutliner release, there is a slight chance that the current directory tree is different from your current one. In this case, you will have to manually migrate your files to the new locations. The installation script creates unique backups of files being replaced with newer versions. So if you put some local customizations into vimoutlinerrc in the directory where VimOutliner is run from (say $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/vimoutlinerrc), you'll probably have to merge the backup with the new file by hand. Which is one good reason why it is preferred to use for the custom configuration and extensions your own copy of the |vimoutlinerrc| in some other location where the file is sought for. *votl-manual-install* Manual Method~ You can also copy the files from the unpacked distribution tar ball into their destination folders by yourself. The following steps are a description of what has to go where and assume some knowledge of your vim setup. If you encounter problems, please contact the mailing list for an immediate solution and more complete future documentation. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/vimoutliner If you want to setup VimOutliner on a system running Microsoft Windows, the directory $HOME denotes the base folder of the vim installation. If you're on Unix based system, the location of $HOME is as usual. You need the following subtrees in your $HOME directory: > $HOME/.vim/ doc/ ftdetect/ ftplugin/ syntax/ vimoutliner/ plugins/ scripts/ < The distribution tar ball unpacks into a directory vimoutliner with the following contents: > vimoutliner/ plugins/ (1) scripts/ (1) doc/ (1) ftdetect/ (1) ftplugin/ (1) install.sh* syntax/ (1) syntax/ (1) vimoutlinerrc (1) < (1) The content of these folders should be copied to their namesakes in the $HOME/.vim folder Your $HOME/.vimrc file should contain the lines > filetype plugin indent on syntax on < Finally, you need to integrate the online help provided with VimOutliner into the vim help system. Start vim and execute the following command: > > :helptags $HOME/.vim/doc < At this point, VimOutliner should be functional. Type ":help vo" to get started. You can also type ":help votl_cheatsheet" to a get a quick overview of all the VimOutliner commands. *votl-testing* Testing Base Functionality~ Open a new outline with the following: > rm $HOME/votl_test.otl gvim $HOME/votl_test.otl or vim $HOME/votl_test.otl < Verify the following: - Tabs indent the text - Different indent levels are different colors - Lines starting with a colon and space word-wrap Lines starting with colons are body text. They should word wrap and should be a special color (typically green, but it can vary). Verify that paragraphs of body text can be reformatted with the Vim gq commands. Verify Interoutline Linking: Interoutline linking currently requires a working perl installation to generate the necessary tag file. We are looking into porting this to vim's own scripting language. Place the following two lines in $HOME/votl_test.otl: > _tag_newfile $HOME/votl_newfile.otl < Note that in the preceding, the 2nd line should be indented from the first. To create VimOutliner's tag file $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/votl_tags.tag, run votl_maketags.pl, which resides in $HOME/.vimoutliner/scripts/: $ $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/scripts/votl_maketags.pl $HOME/votl_test.otl Try the following: - In $HOME/votl_test.otl - Cursor to the _tag_newfile marker - Press CTRL-K You should be brought to $HOME/votl_newfile.otl - Press CTRL-N You should be brought back to $HOME/votl_test.otl Note: CTRL-K is a VimOutliner synonym for CTRL-] CTRL-N is a VimOutliner synonym for CTRL-T This might also be achieved more efficiently by using the UTL plugin for linking to other files and text. Check out the plugin at: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=293 *votl-debian* Debian Installation~ Debian does include Vim Outliner as a package. However some Debian version require this line to be added to your |vimrc| file: > syntax on > ============================================================================== Using VimOutliner On Other File Types~ *votl-other-files* How to use VimOutliner on non .otl files~ Previous VimOutliner versions used the ol script to invoke VimOutliner. As of VimOutliner 0.3.0, the ol script is no longer necessary nor provided. Instead, VimOutliner is now a Vim plugin, so Vim does all the work. This makes VimOutliner much simpler to use in most cases, but Vim plugins are file extension based, meaning that if you want to use VimOutliner on a file extension other than .otl, you must declare that file extension in $HOME/.vim/ftdetect/votl.vim. In this section we'll use the .emdl extension (Easy Menu Definition Language) as an example. To enable VimOutliner work with .emdl files, do this: > vim $HOME/.vim/ftdetect/votl.vim < Right below the line reading: > au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.otl setfiletype votl < Insert the following line: > au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.emdl setfiletype votl < Save and exit > gvim $HOME/votl_test.emdl < You should get: - level colors, - body text (lines starting with colon) - comma comma commands (try ,,2 and ,,1) ============================================================================== Troubleshooting~ *votl-troubleshooting* Q: I can't switch between colon based and space based body text. A: See next question Q: My ,,b and ,,B don't do anything. How do I fix it? A: Open vim like this: > vim $HOME/.vim/ftplugin/votl.vim < Search for use_space_colon Make sure it is set to 0, not 1 Rerun Vim, and ,,b and ,,B should work Q: I don't get VimOutliner features on files of extension .whatever. A: Open vim like this: > vim $HOME/.vim/ftdetect/votl.vim < Right below the line reading: > au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.otl setfiletype votl < Insert the following line: > au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.whatever setfiletype votl < Save and exit. ============================================================================== VimOutliner Philosophy~ *votl-philosophy* Authoring Speed~ VimOutliner is an outline processor with many of the same features as Grandview, More, Thinktank, Ecco, etc. Features include tree expand/collapse, tree promotion/demotion, level sensitive colors, interoutline linking, and body text. What sets VimOutliner apart from the rest is that it's been constructed from the ground up for fast and easy authoring. Keystrokes are quick and easy, especially for someone knowing the Vim editor. The mouse is completely unnecessary (but is supported to the extent that Vim supports the mouse). Many of the VimOutliner commands start with a double comma because that's very quick to type. Many outliners are prettier than VimOutliner. Most other outliners are more intuitive for the newbie not knowing Vim. Many outliners are more featureful than VimOutliner (although VimOutliner gains features monthly and is already very powerful). Some outliners are faster on lookup than VimOutliner. But as far as we know, NO outliner is faster at getting information out of your mind and into an outline than VimOutliner. VimOutliner will always give you lightning fast authoring. That's our basic, underlying philosophy, and will never change, no matter what features are added. Vim Integration~ Earlier VimOutliner versions prided themselves on being stand alone applications, self-contained in a single directory with a special script to run everything. As of 0.3.0, VimOutliner is packaged as a Vim Plugin, eliminating the need for the ol script, which many saw as clumsy. Given that all VimOutliner features are produced by the Vim engine, it makes perfect sense to admit that VimOutliner is an add-on to Vim. Therefore VimOutliner now prides itself in being a Vim plugin. With the VimOutliner package installed, the Vim editor yields the VimOutliner feature set for files whose extensions are listed as votl types in $HOME/.vim/ftplugin/votl.vim. ============================================================================== Running VimOutliner~ *votl-running* Vim Knowledge~ You needn't be a Vim expert to use VimOutliner. If you know the basics -- inserting and deleting line-wise and character-wise, moving between command and insert modes, use of Visual Mode selections,and reformatting, you should be well equipped to use VimOutliner. Run Vim or GVim and follow the instruction on :help |tutor| VimOutliner is a set of Vim scripts and configurations. Its features all come from the Vim editor's engine. If you do not know Vim, you'll need to learn the Vim basics before using VimOutliner. Start by taking the Vim tutorial. The tutorial should take about 2 hours. VimOutliner is so fast, that if you often use outlining, you'll make up that time within a week. *vimoutlinerrc* VimOutliner configuration file~ Custom configuration (and small custom extensions) should be written to the vimoutlinerrc file. It is a regular vimscript file and the first of the files searched in the following locations will be used: * a file .vimoutlinerrc (notice the leading dot) in the users $HOME or $HOME/.vimoutliner directory * a file vimoutlinerrc (name without the leading dot) in the users $HOME, $HOME/.vimoutliner, or $HOME/.vim directory * a file vimoutlinerrc (again without the leading dot) in the folder where the VimOutliner is run from (that could be again $HOME/.vim directory with manual installation or for example $HOME/.vim/bundle/vimoutliner when using pathogen) Many global variables can be also set in the normal vim manner in the user’s $VIMRC file. See general vim documentation for more details for individual variables. *votl-command* Comma Comma Commands~ Traditionally (meaning in terms of the VimOutliner traditions ;)) all VimOutliner were features accessed through keyboard commands starting with two commas. The double comma followed by a character is incredibly fast to type. However, with more widespread use of the VimOutliner some developers felt that all idiosyncrasies should be eliminated and VimOutliner should behave as a normal vim plugin. Therefore now we don’t redefine this command leader (as it is called in the Vim lingo) and unless the user redefines it on her own (in |vimoutlinerrc|) it defaults to backslash. If you configure VimOutliner to use different key combination, you have to mentally replace it everywhere in this documentation. If you are friend of the ancient regime©, then just uncomment the line in |vimoutlinerrc| (see more about the locations where you should put it): "let maplocalleader = ',,' " uncomment for compatibility with " previous versions of VO We expect to create more comma comma commands, so try not to create your own, as they may clash with later comma comma commands. If you have an exceptionally handy command, please report it to the VimOutliner list. Perhaps others could benefit from it. Command List Description ~ ,,D all VimOutliner reserved command ,,H all reserved for manual de-hoisting (add-on) ,,h all reserved for hoisting (add-on) ,,1 all set foldlevel=0 ,,2 all set foldlevel=1 ,,3 all set foldlevel=2 ,,4 all set foldlevel=3 ,,5 all set foldlevel=4 ,,6 all set foldlevel=5 ,,7 all set foldlevel=6 ,,8 all set foldlevel=7 ,,9 all set foldlevel=8 ,,0 all set foldlevel=99999 ,,- all Draw dashed line ,,f normal Directory listing of the current directory ,,s normal Sort sub-tree under cursor ascending ,,S normal Sort sub-tree under cursor descending ,,t normal Append timestamp (HH:MM:SS) to heading ,,T normal Pre-pend timestamp (HH:MM:SS) to heading ,,T normal Pre-pend timestamp (HH:MM:SS) to heading ,,t insert Insert timestamp (HH:MM:SS) at cursor ,,d normal Append datestamp (YYYY-MM-DD) to heading ,,d insert Insert datestamp (YYYY-MM-DD) at cursor ,,D normal Pre-pend datestamp (YYYY-MM-DD) to heading ,,B normal Make body text start with a space ,,b normal Make body text start with a colon and space ,,w insert Save changes and return to insert mode ,,e normal Execute the executable tag line under cursor Other VimOutliner Commands~ Naturally, almost all Vim commands work in VimOutliner. Additionally, VimOutliner adds a few extra commands besides the comma comma commands discussed previously. Command list: CTRL-K Follow tag (Synonym for CTRL-]) CTRL-N Return from tag (Synonym for CTRL-T) Q Reformat (Synonym for gq) To get a quick overview of all VimOutliner commands type ":help votl_cheatsheet" in vim. *votl-activities* Basic VimOutliner activities~ How do I collapse a tree within command mode? zc (note: a full list of folding commands |fold-commands|) How do I expand a tree within command mode? To expand one level: zo To expand all the way down zO How do I demote a headline? In command mode, >> In insert mode at start of the line, press the Tab key In insert mode within the headline, CTRL-T How do I promote a headline? In command mode, << In insert mode at start of the line, press the Backspace key In insert mode within the headline, CTRL-D How do I promote or demote several consecutive headlines? Highlight the lines with the V command Press < to promote or > to demote. You can precede the < or > with a count to promote or demote several levels How do I promote or demote an entire tree? Collapse the tree Use << or >> as appropriate How do I collapse an entire outline? ,,1 How do I maximally expand an entire outline? ,,0 How do I expand an outline down to the third level? ,,3 How do I move a tree? Use Vim's visual cut and paste How do I create body text? Open a blank line below a headline Start the line with a colon followed by a space Continue to type. Your text will wrap How do I reformat body text? Highlight (Shift+V) the body text to be reformatted Use the gq command to reformat How do I reformat one paragraph of body text? The safest way is highlighting. DANGER! Other methods can reformat genuine headlines. How do I switch between colon based and space based body text? ,,b for colon based, ,,B for space based What if ,,b and ,,B don't work Change variable use_space_colon from 1 to 0 in $HOME/.vim/ftplugin/votl.vim How do I perform a word count? Use the command :w !wc The space before the exclamation point is a MUST. *votl-menu* Menu~ There is a simple menu included in Vim Outliner when running in GUI mode. Named 'VO', you can usually find it right next to the 'Help' menu. There are commands to change the fold level and select alternate color schemes. There is also entries for common tools. The last tool item calls a shell script, 'myotl2html.sh'. This script should be provided by the user and is not included in VO releases. A sample myotl2html.sh script might look like this: > #!/bin/bash otl2html.py -S pjtstat.css $1 > $HOME/public_html/$1.html < If you have several different types of reports you create regularly, you can create your own menu entries. Just add lines like these to your |vimoutlinerrc| file: > > amenu &VO.&Reports.&Big\ Project :!otl2html.py -S big.css % > %.html amenu &VO.&Reports.&Hot\ List :!otl2html.py -S todo.css % > %.html amenu &VO.&Reports.&Weekly :!otl2html.py -S weekly.css % > %.html < I'm sure you get the idea. *votl-objects* Vim Outliner Objects~ There are several object/line types that VO supports. The most common on simple headings and body text. Simple headings are tab-indented line that start with any non-whitespace character except: : ; | < >. These characters specify other objects. Here is a list of each of the non-heading types: Start Description~ : body text (wrapping) ; Pre-formatted body text (non-wrapping) | table > user-defined, text block (wrapping) < user-defined, Pre-formatted text block (non-wrapping) The body text marker, :, is used to specify lines that are automatically wrapped and reformatted. VO and post-processors are free to wrap and reformat this text as well as use proportionally- spaced fonts. A post-processor will probably change the appearance of what you have written. If you are writing a book or other document, most of the information you enter will be body text. Here is an example: > Kirby the Wonder Dog : Kirby is nine years old. He understand about 70-100 : English words. Kirby also understands 11 different hand : signals. He is affectionate, playful and attentive. : : His breeding is unknown. He appears to be a mix between : a German shepherd and a collie. < When folded, body text looks something like this: > Kirby the Wonder Dog [TEXT] -------------------------------- (6 lines) < The Pre-formatted text marker, ;, is used to mark text that should not be reformatted nor wrapped by VO or any post-processor. A post- processor would use a fixed-space font, like courier, to render these lines. A post-processor will probably not change the appearance of what you have written. This is useful for making text picture, program code or other format-dependent text. Here is an example: > Output waveform ; _______ ______ ; _____/ \______________/ ; |-10us--|----35us------| < When folded, Pre-formatted body text looks something like this: > Output waveform [TEXT BLOCK] -------------------------- (6 lines) < The table marker, |, is used to create tables. This is an excellent way to show tabular data. The marker is used as if it were are real vertical line. A || (double-|) is optionally used to mark a table heading line. This is useful for post-processors. Here is an example: > Pets || Name | Age | Animal | Inside/Outside | | Kirby | 9 | dog | both | | Hoover | 1 | dog | both | | Sophia | 9 | cat | inside | < There is no automatic alignment of columns yet. It must be done manually. The post-processor, otl2thml.py, does have alignment functions. See its documentation for more information. When folded, a table looks something like this: > Pets [TABLE] ------------------------------- (4 lines) < User-defined text is similar to body text but more flexible and it's use is not pre-defined by Vim Outliner. The basic, user-defined text block marker, >, behaves just like body text. For example: > Kirby the Wonder Dog > Kirby is nine years old. He understand about 70-100 > English words. Kirby also understands 11 different hand > signals. He is affectionate, playful and attentive. > > His breeding is unknown. He appears to be a mix between > a German shepherd and a collie. < When folded, body text looks something like this: > Kirby the Wonder Dog [USER] -------------------------------- (6 lines) < But unlike body text, user-defined text can be expanded. You could have user-defined text types. If you were writing a book, in addition to body text for paragraphs you might need special paragraphs for tips and warnings. User-defined text blocks can accomplish this: > >Tips > Don't forget to back up your computer daily. You don't > need to back up the entire computer. You just need to > backup up the files that have changed. >Warning >Never store you backup floppy disks on the side of you >file cabinets by adhering them with magnets. < A post processor will know how to remove the style tags (Tips and Warning) and you want the text to be formatted. When folded, the above would appear as: > [USER Tips] --------------------------- (4 lines) [USER Warning]------------------------- (3 lines) < The user-defined, pre-formatted text block marker, <, behaves just like pre-formatted text. But like >, it leaves the functional definition up to the user. A simple user-defined, pre-formatted text block could be: > Tux < _.._ < .-' `-. < : ; < ; ,_ _, ; < : \{" "}/ : < ,'.'"=..=''.'. < ; / \ / \ ; < .' ; '.__.' ; '. < .-' .' '. '-. < .' ; ; '. < / / \ \ < ; ; ; ; < ; `-._ _.-' ; < ; ""--. .--"" ; < '. _ ; ; _ .' < {""..' '._.-. .-._.' '..""} < \ ; ; / < : : : : < : :.__.: : < \ /"-..-"\ / fsc < '-.__.' '.__.-' < When folded it would be: > Tux [USER BLOCK] -------------------------- (6 lines) < Like user-defined text, these blocks can be given user-defined styles. For example: > [USER BLOCK ASCIIart] ----------------- (22 lines) [USER BLOCK Code] --------------------- (17 lines) < *votl-post-processors* VimOutliner Post-Processors~ There are already several post processors for Vim Outliner. Some are general purpose in nature and others perform specific conversions. There are several of the tested scripts now included in the $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/scripts folder. See also the scripts section. |votl-scripts| ============================================================================== Advanced VimOutliner *votl-advanced* *votl-executable-lines* Executable Lines~ Executable lines enable you to launch any command from a specially constructed headline within VimOutliner. The line must be constructed like this: > Description _exe_ command < Here's an example to pull up Troubleshooters.Com: > Troubleshooters.Com _exe_ mozilla http://www.troubleshooters.com < Executable lines offer the huge benefit of a single-source knowledge tree, where all your knowledge, no matter what its format, exists within a single tree of outlines connected with inter-outline links and executable lines. A more efficient and feature rich way to achieve this might be to use the UTL plugin for vim. See the scripts section at http://www.vim.org ============================================================================== Plugins *votl-plugins* The VimOutliner distribution currently includes plugins for easy handling of checkboxes, hoisting (see below), smart paste, clocking, math and format. The checkboxes tags and smart paste plugins are enabled by default. The hoisting, clocking, math and format plugins are disabled by default. To enable these plugins look for the easy instructions for this in your |vimoutlinerrc| file. More information below and in the plugin files in the directory where the VimOutliner is run from (either $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/plugin for manual installation or $HOME/.vim/bundle/vimoutliner/plugin when using pathogen). *votl-checkbox* Checkboxes~ Checkboxes enable VimOutliner to understand tasks and calculate the current status of todo-lists etc. Three special notations are used: > [_] an unchecked item or incomplete task [X] a checked item or complete task % a placeholder for percentage of completion < Several ,,-commands make up the user interface: > ,,cb Insert a check box on the current line or each line of the currently selected range (including lines in selected but closed folds). This command is currently not aware of body text. Automatic recalculation of is performed for the entire root-parent branch that contains the updated child. (see ,,cz) ,,cx Toggle check box state (percentage aware) ,,cd Delete check boxes ,,c% Create a check box with percentage placeholder except on childless parents ,,cp Create a check box with percentage placeholder on all headings ,,cz Compute completion for the tree below the current heading. < How do I use it? Start with a simple example. Let's start planning a small party, say a barbecue. 1. Make the initial outline. > Barbecue Guests Bill and Barb Larry and Louise Marty and Mary Chris and Christine David and Darla Noel and Susan Food Chicken Ribs Corn on the cob Salad Desert Beverages Soda Iced Tea Beer Party Favors Squirt guns Hats Name tags Materials Paper Plates Napkins Trash Containers < 2. Add the check boxes. This can be done by visually selecting them and typing ,,cb. When done, you should see this: > [_] Barbecue [_] Guests [_] Bill and Barb [_] Larry and Louise [_] Marty and Mary [_] Chris and Christine [_] David and Darla [_] Noel and Susan [_] Food [_] Chicken [_] Ribs [_] Corn on the cob [_] Salad [_] Desert [_] Beverages [_] Soda [_] Iced Tea [_] Beer [_] Party Favors [_] Squirt guns [_] Hats [_] Name tags [_] Materials [_] Paper Plates [_] Napkins [_] Trash Containers < 3. Now check off what's done. Checking off what is complete is easy with the ,,cx command. Just place the cursor on a heading and ,,cx it. Now you can see what's done as long as the outline is fully expanded. > [_] Barbecue [_] Guests [X] Bill and Barb [X] Larry and Louise [X] Marty and Mary [X] Chris and Christine [X] David and Darla [X] Noel and Susan [_] Food [X] Chicken [X] Ribs [_] Corn on the cob [_] Salad [X] Desert [_] Beverages [_] Soda [X] Iced Tea [X] Beer [_] Party Favors [_] Squirt guns [_] Hats [_] Name tags [_] Materials [X] Paper Plates [_] Napkins [X] Trash Containers < 4. Now summarize what's done. You can summarize what is done with the ,,cz command. Place the cursor on the 'Barbecue' heading and ,,cz it. The command will recursively process the outline and update the check boxes of the parent headlines. You should see: (Note: the only change is on the 'Guests' heading. It changed because all of its children are complete.) > [_] Barbecue [X] Guests [X] Bill and Barb [X] Larry and Louise [X] Marty and Mary [X] Chris and Christine [X] David and Darla [X] Noel and Susan [_] Food [X] Chicken [X] Ribs [_] Corn on the cob [_] Salad [X] Desert [_] Beverages [_] Soda [X] Iced Tea [X] Beer [_] Party Favors [_] Squirt guns [_] Hats [_] Name tags [_] Materials [X] Paper Plates [_] Napkins [X] Trash Containers < 5. Add percentages for a better view. You can get a much better view of what's going on, especially with collapsed headings, if you add percentages. Place a % on each heading that has children like this: > [_] % Barbecue [X] % Guests [X] Bill and Barb [X] Larry and Louise [X] Marty and Mary [X] Chris and Christine [X] David and Darla [X] Noel and Susan [_] % Food [X] Chicken [X] Ribs [_] Corn on the cob [_] Salad [X] Desert [_] % Beverages [_] Soda [X] Iced Tea [X] Beer [_] % Party Favors [_] Squirt guns [_] Hats [_] Name tags [_] % Materials [X] Paper Plates [_] Napkins [X] Trash Containers < 6. Now compute the percentage of completion. After adding the % symbols, place the cursor on the 'Barbecue' heading and execute ,,cz as before. Keep in mind that the recursive percentages are weighted. You should see: > [_] 58% Barbecue [X] 100% Guests [X] Bill and Barb [X] Larry and Louise [X] Marty and Mary [X] Chris and Christine [X] David and Darla [X] Noel and Susan [_] 60% Food [X] Chicken [X] Ribs [_] Corn on the cob [_] Salad [X] Desert [_] 66% Beverages [_] Soda [X] Iced Tea [X] Beer [_] 0% Party Favors [_] Squirt guns [_] Hats [_] Name tags [_] 66% Materials [X] Paper Plates [_] Napkins [X] Trash Containers < 7. Complete a few more just for fun. Mark Salad and Soda and you should see the outline below. Try playing around with zc and zo to see the effects of opening and closing folds. Even if you place the cursor on 'Barbecue' and zo it, you still have a good understanding of how complete the project is. > [_] 69% Barbecue [X] 100% Guests [X] Bill and Barb [X] Larry and Louise [X] Marty and Mary [X] Chris and Christine [X] David and Darla [X] Noel and Susan [_] 80% Food [X] Chicken [X] Ribs [_] Corn on the cob [X] Salad [X] Desert [X] 100% Beverages [X] Soda [X] Iced Tea [X] Beer [_] 0% Party Favors [_] Squirt guns [_] Hats [_] Name tags [_] 66% Materials [X] Paper Plates [_] Napkins [X] Trash Containers < *votl-hoisting* Hoisting~ Hoisting is a way to focus on the offspring of the currently selected outline item. The sub items will be presented as top level items in the automatically extracted hoist-file located in the same directory as the main outline file. You cannot hoist parts of an already hoisted file again. To enable this plugin uncomment the following line in |vimoutlinerrc|: > "let g:vo_modules_load .= ':newhoist' < Once it is enabled, you hoist the subtopics of the currently selected item with ,,h Hoist the subtopics into a temporary file The changes are merged back into the original file by closing the temporary hoist file with :q :wq :x ZZ If something went wrong, you can perform a manual de-hoisting with the following procedure: Open the main file in VimOutliner Search for the line containing the __hoist tag On this line, do ,,H Manual de-hoisting *votl-clock* Clock~ The clock plugin is a little imitation of a nice feature from emacs org mode. The clockpugin allows to track times and summarize them up in the parent heading. To enable this plugin uncomment the following line in |vimoutlinerrc|: > "let g:vo_modules_load .= ':clock' < To start clocking you need to write a heading containing times in square brackets like shown below. After the closing bracket -> indicates the place where the calculated time is written. The arrow can be followed by a char to indicate to unit in which the time is displayed. Use 's' for seconds, 'm' for minutes, 'h' for hours and 'd' for days. If no unit is given hours are used. > Year 2011 -> d January -> Monday, 3th [08:30:00 -- 17:45:00] -> m Tuesday, 3th [08:50:25 -- 18:00:02] -> s < To summarize the times up within the outline headings ending with -> {char} use ,,cu Clock update with the cursor somewhere in the hierarchy. After that the outline should look like this: > Year 2011 -> 0.77 d January -> 18.41 h Monday, 3th [08:30:00 -- 17:45:00] -> 555.00 m Tuesday, 3th [08:50:25 -- 18:00:02] -> 32977 s < Every time the times are changed or the units where changed use ,,cu to update all times within the hierarchy. Mappings for fast clocking: ,,cs Clock start. Date and current time as start and end time are written at cursor position. Works in normal mode and insert mode. > Year 2011 -> 0.77 d January -> 18.41 h Monday, 3th [08:30:00 -- 17:45:00] -> 555.00 m Tuesday, 3th [08:50:25 -- 18:00:02] -> 32977 s 2011-10-11 [01:32:11 -- 01:32:11] -> > To set a new end time, place the cursor at the desired line and use following mapping: ,,cS Clock stop. Set the end time to current time. This works also in normal mode and insert mode. > Year 2011 -> 0.77 d January -> 18.41 h Monday, 3th [08:30:00 -- 17:45:00] -> 555.00 m Tuesday, 3th [08:50:25 -- 18:00:02] -> 32977 s 2011-10-11 [01:32:11 -- 01:42:19] -> 0.17 h > At the moment there are no user defined time formats supported. And it's not possible to clock times over the midnight like [22:25:00 -- 01:00:00], but it's usable for the most important cases. ============================================================================== Scripts *votl-scripts* The VimOutliner distribution currently includes several useful external scripts to support interoutline links, HTML export and more. All scripts are included in your $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/scripts folder. For more information on these scripts see usage section in the scripts. You can also find several of these scripts on this web site with links to their specific web site: https://sites.google.com/site/vimoutlinerinfo/scripts-for-vimoutliner Information on some of the scripts votl_maketags.pl *votl-maketags* A basic description of how to use this Perl script is given in section |votl-testing|, subsection "Verify interoutline linking". otl2html.py *otl2html* This Python script transforms an outline into an HTML file. Use $ otl2html.py --help to get detailed information. This script does not adhere to the VimOutliner naming convention with the 'votl_' prefix because it is not necessary for any VimOutliner functionality. It is provided both as a useful tool for creating HTML pages and HTML slides from outlines and as a working demonstration of how to convert .otl files to other formats. ============================================================================== Other Information *votl-other-info* The VimOutliner Project~ - How do I add my own features? Two ways -- by changing VimOutliner source code, or by inserting your own code in |vimoutlinerrc|, which runs at the end of the VimOutliner startup scripts. You might have to merge your personal vimoutlinerrc with future versions to take advantage of new features. - How is VimOutliner licensed? VimOutliner is licensed under the GNU General Public License. - How do I contribute to VimOutliner Step 1 is to subscribe to our mailing list. Join up at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/vimoutliner. Lurk for a few days or so to get the feel, then submit your idea/suggestion. A lively discussion will ensue, after which your idea, probably in some modified form, will be considered. The more of the actual work you have done, the more likely your feature will go in the distribution in a timely manner. - What's with the VimOutliner file names? All VimOutliner files must begin with votl_ unless Vim itself requires them to have a different name. A few older files from previous versions break this rule, but over time these will be changed to our naming convention. In the old days, with the "self contained" philosophy, there was no naming convention, because VimOutliner files were segregated into their own tree. With the coming of the "vim plugin" philosophy, there's a need to identify VimOutliner files for purposes of modification, upgrade and de-installation. Hence our naming convention. - What if my feature doesn't make it into the VimOutliner distribution? You can offer it on your own web site, or very possibly on to the forthcoming new VimOutliner home page VimOutliner ships with its core features, but many additional functionalities, especially those that operate from Perl scripts (or bash or python) are available outside the distro. For instance, right now there's an Executable Line feature that turns VimOutliner into a true single tree information reservoir. The Executable Line feature is available extra-distro on the VimOutliner home page. See also the scripts included in the $HOME/.vim/vimoutliner/scripts folder. Anticipated improvements in later versions~ Command-invoking headlines Already prototyped Probably coming next version Allows you to press a key and get an html command in a browser Enables a true single tree knowledge collection Enables use of VimOutliner as a shell Groupware Not yet well defined Enables collaborative work on an outline A pipe dream, but VimOutliner itself was once a pipe dream Easy mode Let's Windows users operate VO like a common insert-only editor. This will remove a great deal of VO's keyboarder- friendly features. But then, they're Windows users: let them use the mouse. Headline to headline links Not yet sanctioned, might never be implemented If implemented, this would presumably create links not just between outlines, but between headlines, either in the same outline or in a different one. This would be a start on "neural networking". Headline numbering Under feasibility investigation Supported by external scripts Toolbar in gvim Under feasibility investigation Further information on outlines, outline processing and outliners~ http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=3515 vim.org script site http://freecode.com/projects/vimoutliner Main distribution website https://github.com/vimoutliner/vimoutliner git repository http://www.troubleshooters.com/projects/alt-vimoutliner-litt/ Preliminary main web site with links to other sites http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/199911/199911.htm Outlining discussion, not product specific http://www.troubleshooters.com/linux/olvim.htm Discussion on how to use Vim for outlining http://www.troubleshooters.com/projects/vimoutliner.htm Former Web page for the VimOutliner distro http://www.outliners.com Discussion of (proprietary) outliners from days gone by. Downloads for ancient versions of such outliners. Unfortunately, all are DOS, Windows and Mac. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Software/Inspiration/index.html Discussion of (proprietary,Mac) Inspiration software This page discusses many methods of thought/computer interaction: Visual Outlining Textual Outlining Idea mapping Mind Mapping Brainstorming with Rapid Fire Entry Concept Mapping Story boarding Diagrams (using rich symbol library) http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/index.html Not about outlines, but instead about how to use your brain. The whole purpose of outlines is to use your brain. New ways of using your brain produce new ways to use outlines. For the VimOutliner version information and history, see the CHANGELOG.