Circus Ponies suddenly ceased business

Posted by Bob Spies
Feb 21, 2016 at 10:20 PM

In my opinion, some of the commenters here are missing a key point: CP NoteBook’s primary strength was its extremely robust handling of outline-structured data. On top of that its “multidex” allowed viewing outline data in various other ways.

Various software packages support creating a simple outline for a simple purpose; e.g., spec’ing out the structure of a document prior to writing it. But outlines are ideal for something far bigger: handling and integration of all the information, action items, and projects someone with a non-routine job (or life) deals with. I update and reference the outlines I use to “run my life” continuously during the day. There have only been a handful of software titles I’ve found over time that have been able to support that. Starting from “the beginning”: ThinkTank, More, Grandview, Noteliner, CP NoteBook, (NOT OneNote), and now out of necessity I’ve switched to OmniOutliner. Omni supports the kind of industrial-strength outlining that CP NoteBook did, although it lacks the multidex feature, which I used principally as a way of managing my to-do’s without having to manage a separate to-do list.

CP NoteBook’s ability to support attachments, tables, free-form notes, etc was all gravy—there are plenty of other options for handling those. Its truly important (and sadly under-appreciated) capability was its industrial-strength outlining.