Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I had a very similar idea a few weeks ago, since I usually track to-do lists in a text editor anyway. But my idea (and what I would recommend) is no modes. There's no reason you can't have the normal UI act like a giant textarea. The really important part is supporting tab/shift-tab while doing this.



> There's no reason you can't have the normal UI act like a giant textarea.

Sounds like you're describing Workflowy: https://workflowy.com


Yes! This is exactly what I was thinking of, but didn't know existed. Thanks.


or TaskPaper, http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/products/taskpaper

There's a vim syntax for taskpaper's file format.



I just love that plugin.


The (non-free) Mac desktop program OmniOutliner (http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnioutliner/) also handles outlines like this. I use it for taking notes on a lot of things. It has its flaws, but it’s decently powerful – I use the custom text styles a lot for marking up code and file paths in my text.


I can also vouch for OmniOutliner, though I personally don't use it for task management. I use Notational Velocity (http://notational.net/) for taking reference notes, and for task management I email myself action items and tag them using the GTD system. Gmail's amazing tagging and filtering system and its abundance of single-key keyboard shortcuts make it better than any other system I've tried. I don't even miss being able to edit items; I've gotten used to either forwarding or making a new one, and it's a good tradeoff. I'll write an article about it someday.

For nearly everything else I'll default to OmniOutliner, and I usually have at least three or four windows of it open. I've never found any outlining software that comes close. Favorite features: Rarely lacks a keyboard shortcut I want it to have, has audio recording built in (I'd suggest an external mic for it to be useful though), and exports to plain text, HTML, RTF, and Word.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: