Acta Advantage is an outliner that works both as a DA and as an application — although it is more powerful as a DA. The only reason to use the application version is for its WYSIWYG page preview and its printing formal features. For the real work — the spontaneous thinking — the DA is the way to go.
Symmetry has added several features to keep Acta updated. The original version, a DA, couldn't print directly and didn't have type-style capability. Symmetry recognized the need to develop its product long before realizing that it also had to teach people how to use it. The package now includes a 75-page manual that describes how you can leverage the power of this outlining package.
Acta Advantage's relationships are structured hierarchically. Once you understand the tree and family structure, it's fairly easy to use the system and keep tilings straight. Topics that are located directly beneath each other are called sisters. Subtopics, which are to the right of mother topics, are called daughters. Topics that are beneath and one level to the left of mother topics are called aunts.
To start using Acta Advantage, you simply open a new outline. To keep track of the family relationships, Acta Advantage uses a simple and ingenious system. To the left of each topic is a triangle marker. A solid triangle indicates that the topic has no daughters, and a hollow triangle means that a family exists. Double-clicking on a hollow triangle collapses the topic, concealing the daughters; doublc-clicking again expands it, so you can keep the screen as clear or cluttered as you wish.
Collapsing topics is one way you can zero in on information in the outline; anolher method is called shrinking. When you shrink a topic, everything but the first line of text, or the first 16 dots of a graphic, disappears. An arrow that points down precedes the topic, indicating that it has been shrunk.
To move information around in your outline, you use standard Mac commands for cutting, pasting, dragging, adding, and deleting text. If you hold down the mouse button, all the family information related to a topic will he highlighted.
Acta Advantage organizes your information using the classic outline method or labeled format, The main lopics, the mothers, can be labeled with section numbers such as 1,2,3, and so on. The daughters, the first indentation in the outline, can be labeled 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, and so on. The aunts can be labeled 1.1.1, 2.1.1, 3.1.1, and so forth. Or if you prefer, you can use a combination of letters and numbers such as 1 for the heading, or mother, A for the first indented daughter, and I for the first indented aunt.
A twist on the classic outline format is the use of bullets instead of numbers or letters. Acta Advantage allows you to define any Mac character as a bullet. You could use ampersands instead of bullets, for example. However, you can’t mix characters within topics at the same level.
Acta Advantage has a simple find-text function that lets you breeze through single outlines, looking for words or phrases. The program can also sort alphabetically, numerically, or reverse-numerically. Unfortunately, it can't search through multiple outlines on disk or in multiple windows simultaneously.
Through the Mac interface, the program can use a host of different type styles, both on-screen and in print. The type styles can be changed in an entire outline, as well as by topic or within a topic. Different type styles make it easy to sec changes in the sections of an outline and to highlight important points.
Acta Advantage includes a smart pasting feature that allows you to bring information in from other applications, such as spreadsheets or word processors, through the Clipboard. This feature translates the information on the Clipboard into Acta format, automatically splitting it into topics. Wherever a carriage return appears, Acta Advantage interprets it as the end of one topic and the beginning of another. Although this assumption may not always yield the desired results, it saves time.
Other tools used to import or export information are the format drivers, which are stored in the System folder. The format drivers translate Acta documents to MORE and ThinkTank formats, and translate from Acta to MacWrite, WriteNow, Works, and Rich Text format. Symmetry plans to do the same for WordPerfect. Another format driver can read Scrapbook files into Acta, and Acta topics can also be PICT images. Acta Advantage's topics are limited to 32,000 text characters (graphics are unlimited), and outlines can be nested to 2,000 levels.
Acta Advantage is a simple program with tremendous inherent power. If you need to organize your thoughts quickly, Acta Advantage is for you.
Landis, Ken. (August 1989). Acta Advantage. MacUser. (pgs. 47, 50)
Maitreya
Applications
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2020-09-13 / 
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Acta_Advantagetm.img_.sit
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Mini vMac
