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PRODUCT REVIEW
BrainForest companion for the Mac desktop
By Bob Freud
When the Palm computer first appeared, many users were charmed by the interface and amused by Giraffe. But it was Florent Pillet's program, Outliner, that convinced many early adopters that the Palm device was going to be something more than an electronic datebook. It might, in fact, help them get some actual work done. An outlining program can be a powerful tool for organizing. Most standard outliners help users organize writing. BrainForest Professional enables you to organize your writing, your projects, and your life!
Aportis took over the development of Outliner and last year released an enhanced version as Brainforest. I was very impressed and said so in "Outliners for the PalmPilot", in the June 1998 PalmPower. What BrainForest lacked, however, was a companion desktop application. With a desktop version of BrainForest, I would be able to continue working on an outline at my computer. Heck, I like to use the PalmPilot as much as the next guy (my friends say a bit more than the next guy), but when I have access to large amounts of screen real estate, I'd just as soon use it.
The Mac companion application is here first!
A companion desktop application has been in the works since Brainforest was released. In February 1999, beleaguered yet loyal Macintosh Palm users finally had something to crow about: the Macintosh version of Brainforest Professional was released, as shown in Figure A. According to Aportis spokesman Frank Colin, the Windows version, currently in beta, will definitely be out before Windows 2000.
FIGURE A
 
There's a Macintosh BrainForest application available. Finally, Mac users get their just rewards! Roll over picture for a larger image.
What is Brainforest Pro? Brainforest Mobile Edition (the Palm-only version of the software) and Brainforest Professional (Desktop and Palm software) perform essentially the same tasks: both create full-featured outlines. BrainForest uses the tree as an organizing metaphor. The outlines you create are the trees, the headings are branches, and the subheadings are leaves. Brain. Forest. Get it?
In addition to the standard outlining features you've come to expect (numbering/lettering options, promotion and demotion of items), BrainForest has the ability to make each item in the outline a ToDo checkbox, or to add a "percent completed" box next to an item. You can also toggle back and forth between these views. You can promote and demote items with keystrokes and drag and drop.
You can also annotate any branch or leaf by attaching notes. Note icons look like yellow sticky notes in the desktop application. When you export your file, you can choose to export with or without notes.
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