Outline - Overview

The Outline section provides a traditional linear view of your work, and is automatically generated using the content and structure of your Timeline. This article provides an overview of how it works on Plottr for Desktop and Web.

Outline Basics

Here are a few things to know about the Outline:

• You can edit Scene Cards in the Outline
• You can link Characters, Places, and Tags to Scene Cards in the Outline
• You can manually reorder Scene Cards in the Outline
• You can filter the Outline by individual Plotlines to see just the Scene Cards in them
• You can navigate the Outline by clicking on a Chapter in the sidebar
• You can drag and drop Chapters in the Sidebar to reorder them
• The colors in the Outline Sidebar represent the plotlines of the scene cards in that chapter / beat. (The colors match those of the plotlines in the Timeline section, which you can learn more about here.)

Getting Started

To access the Outline section, open the app and click on the Outline tab at the top of the screen:

At the very top of the Outline tab, you'll find the following navigation options:

• Filter by Plotline: Click this button to filter your Outline by the Plotlines you have created on the Timeline
• Export: Click this button to export your work to Microsoft Word or Scrivener

The Outline section of Plottr contains the following:

• Outline Toolbar: View actions you can take in relation to your Outline
• Outline Content: View and edit your scene cards 
• Outline Sidebar: View a list of chapters (with colors for the plotlines represented in them), which you can click to navigate the Outline

Use Cases

There are many ways to use the Outline — here are some ideas to get you started:

• Linear Narrative View: View and edit your narrative in a traditional, linear fashion
• Reorder Scenes: Change the order of your scenes in the Outline 
• Identify Plot Holes: Filter your narrative by individual plotlines to see if the progression of a particular character or subplot flows logically

Known Limitations 

We are aware of some limitations with the Outline, which we intend to address with future updates:

• You cannot print the Outline as it appears in Plottr (but you can export the details to MS Word or Scrivener)
• You cannot add or delete Scene Cards in the Outline
• You cannot create new Characters, Places, or Tags within the Outline section