Switching to the Outline View

 

To switch to the Outline View, click the Outline View icon on the Diagram toolbar.

 

To enter your main idea:

1.      Type your main idea for the project.

2.      The text will appear in place of the word Main Idea.

 

Adding a topic to your outline:

1.      Select the topic under which you want to add a new topic.

2.      Click the Add Topic icon on the Outline toolbar.

3.      Type in your information.

 

To add a subtopic:

1.      Select the topic where you want to add the subtopic.

2.      To select a topic, click to the left of its prefix. A rectangle appears around the topic to show it's selected.

3.      On the Outline toolbar, click the Add a sub button A new indented subtopic will be inserted below the topic.

 

To insert a topic or subtopic at a higher level:

1.      Select the topic after which you want to insert a higher level.

2.      On the Outline menu, click Insert Higher Level Topic.

3.      A new topic will appear below the topic you selected and at the next higher level in your outline.

 

To add a note to a topic:

You can develop ideas by adding notes. This is where you do extra writing. It can be one sentence or multiple paragraphs.

1.      Select the topic where you want to add a note.

2.      Press Enter or on the Outline toolbar, click the Add Note button.

3.      The cursor will appear below the selected topic in order to type your notes.

 

To edit text in an outline:

1.      Select the text where you want to edit. The cursor becomes an I-beam cursor.

2.      Do one of the following:

  1. Enter the new text.
  2. Drag to select the text you want to replace, then enter the new text.

 

To copy, cut and paste topics:

You can copy or cut one or more topics and their subtopics and paste them in another location. You can also paste them in another outline or into a document in another application. (Use the same directions to Cut the information.)

1.      Select the topic you want to copy. All subtopics will be copied along with the topic.

2.      Click Edit, then Copy. Select the topic under which you want to paste the topic.

3.      Click Edit, then Paste.

 

To consolidate several topics under one topic:

You can move topics to other locations in your outline by using the Collect and Move command. It will help consolidate ideas that are scattered throughout the outline.

1.      Select the topic under which you want to place the other topics. A rectangle appears around the selected topic.

2.      Hold the Shift key down as you select the topics you want to consolidate. A dotted rectangle appears around each topic you select. You do not have to select each subtopic.

3.      On the Outline menu, click Collect and Move. The Collect Options dialog box appears.

4.      You have two options in the Collect Options dialog box:

  1. Click Move Collected Topics to move the topics under the selected topic.
  2. Click Copy Collected Topics to copy the topics and place them under the selected topic, and leave the originals intact in the outline.

5.      Click OK.

 

To change the look of all topics at a specific level:

You can quickly change the look of the text in your outline by using different fonts and colors. You can make the main topics all one color and font, second level topics another color and font, and so on.

1.      On the Outline toolbar, click Properties.

2.      In the Topic Level box, click the topic level with the font and style you want

to change. You can click All Items to change everything, or All Topic Levels to change all topics, or Notes Text to change the notes text.

3.      Click the font drop-down list to select the font you want to use.

4.      Click the size drop-down list to select the size you want to use.

5.      To change the style of the text, click the appropriate boxes.

6.      Click the color drop-down list to select the color you want to use.

7.      Click OK when finished.

 

To change the prefixes

A variety of prefix styles are included in Inspiration. The standard Roman Numeral method is the default prefix in the program.

1.      On the Outline toolbar, click the prefix button.

2.      Select the prefix style you want and click.

3.      Click OK when finished.

 

To select different prefixes and change their font and style:

1.      On the Outline toolbar, click the Properties button.

2.      Click the prefix tab.

3.      On the Prefix drop-down menu, click the prefix style you want.

4.      Click Custom Font and Style to change the font and text style.

5.      Make your selections and click OK.

 

To add a graphic to your notes text:

Inspiration gives you the option of creating or copying a graphic from any graphics program and adding it to your notes text in your outline.

1.      Copy the image you want to use by using the Edit and Copy commands from the graphics or paint program.

2.      In the Outline view, select the topic where you want to paste the graphic.

3.      Select the Edit menu, then click Paste.