Transform an org-mode outline with properties to a table format (org-table, CSV), or the other way around.

This makes it possible to have an outline with properties and work with it in column view.

Then you can transform the outline to a table to share with others (export to CSV and open in Excel), and back again.

Note: This makes more sense if you start out from an org-mode tree, convert to a table and then convert back again. If you start out with a regular table and try to convert it into a tree, it won't have any of the org-mode tree stuff in it, so there's no useful structure there.

More about column view:

• http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-column-view-tutorial.html
• http://orgmode.org/manual/Column-view.html

More about Excel:

• People who aren't Emacs users tend to use it a lot.

;; Org outline to an org table
M-x org-transform-tree/org-table-buffer-from-outline

;; Org outline to CSV (or rather, tab-separated value)
M-x org-transform-tree/csv-table-buffer-from-outline

If the region is active, convert that part of the tree. Otherwise, if point is on an org heading, convert that heading and its subtree. Otherwise convert the buffer.

In the resulting table, row one is the column titles. The rest of the rows are property values.

Column one is the outline heading, and the rest are the properties in the order they first appear in the buffer.

However, all special properties (e.g. 'COLUMNS', '*_ALL') are placed after all the user properties (i.e. whatever properties the user has added to capture information).

Text content under a heading is also transformed and put in the first column.

Special values that can't be represented in an org table are escaped:

|                   ==> \vert{}
first leading space ==> non-breaking space (C-x 8 SPC)

;; From an org table to an org outline
M-x org-transform-table/org-tree-buffer-from-org-table

;; From CSV (tab separated) to an org outline
M-x org-transform-table/org-tree-buffer-from-csv

When converting from an org table, point must be on a table.

When converting CSV, convert the buffer.

Values escaped from any tree->table transformation are unescaped (see above).

This outline:

* Pages
  :PROPERTIES:
  :COLUMNS:  %30ITEM %10LOGIN %10ACCESS %10COST
  :END:
** About
   :PROPERTIES:
   :LOGIN:    No
   :ACCESS:   All
   :END:
** Products
   :PROPERTIES:
   :COLUMNS: %30ITEM %10Color
   :ACCESS:   All
   :LOGIN:    No
   :END:
*** Free Widget
    :PROPERTIES:
    :ACCESS:   All
    :LOGIN:    Yes
    :COLOR:    Green
    :END:

    This one is:
    - Awesome
    - Green
*** Paid Thingy
    :PROPERTIES:
    :ACCESS:   Paid
    :COST:     30
    :LOGIN:    Yes
    :COLOR:    Blue
    :END:

Transforms into:

| Heading          | LOGIN | ACCESS | COLOR | COST | COLUMNS                            |
| * Pages          |       |        |       |      | %30ITEM %10Login %10Access %10Cost |
| ** About         | No    | All    |       |      |                                    |
| ** Products      | No    | All    |       |      | %30ITEM %10Color                   |
| *** Free Widget  | Yes   | All    | Green |      |                                    |
|     This one is: |       |        |       |      |                                    |
|     - Awesome    |       |        |       |      |                                    |
|     - Green      |       |        |       |      |                                    |
| *** Paid Thingy  | Yes   | Paid   | Blue  |   30 |                                    |

Note that:

• The special property COLUMNS are out on the right, to be out of the way when the table is being edited in e.g. Excel or Open Office.

• The transformation is only 99% round-trip safe since there might be some reordering of properties taking place. Also, org-mode insists on reporting property names in uppper-case, so if you have mixed-case properties they will be mangled :/

• It's possible to have many COLUMNS declarations for different parts of the tree. Some of them might be repeated at a lower level. Useful techniques to keep them in sync:

  • Multiple cursors
  • M-x iedit
  • Search and replace

• Each line of text under a heading turns into a row.

• The indentation / whitespace in the text has a leading non-breaking-space to keep the layout inside the table.

• The outline can also be written to a tab-separated value buffer, which can be opened in e.g. Excel.

Install org-transform-tree-table using MELPA like any other module.

Clone the repo into somewhere in the load-path.

git clone https://github.com/jplindstrom/emacs-org-transform-tree-table.git

and initialize with:

(require 'org-transform-tree-table)