Mailing the story:

The ability to make outlines, or to view any structured document in an outline view, are touted features of Microsoft Word and just about every word processor out there. Linux has its ways here, too. The Vim editor has folding, and Emacs has Outline mode, which lets you selectively view documents by their main headings. You can hide and view the text under headings, move quickly between headings, and easily mark whole branches of the outline for cutting.