How do I create an Outline?

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Please implement an outline editing view in Writer, with similar functionality to MS Word's Outline view, but make it more user-friendly.

Most important is being able to use tab and back-tab to change the outline level as one types, and automatic assignment of heading styles to corresponding outline levels.

If I am reading you right ...

Writer does not have the outline view "inline", with chapters/subchapters collapsible within the text edit pane, like what you have in some other wordprocessing apps. Instead you have the navigator on the side for this. Press function key F5 to toggle the floating navigator, or click the compass icon on the sidebar.

The outline you see in the navigator is based on the use of Heading x paragraph styles^(*). Every Heading 1 paragraph inserted will create a new main branch in the Headings category of the navigator. Higher numbered Heading ... styles will spawn sublevels of branching.

All editing is done in the main, document editing pane.

If you want to use a lead paragraph (ingress), you can have that inserted into the navigator structure too. It may look a little messy, but it works. Just use Heading 10 (or any heading style with a level above the highest you are going to use), and edit that style to give an apearance like the text body (or slightly emphasized - like italic, shadow, indent - if you want the leads to stand out).

(*) - What really governs the creation of this outline is the "outline level" selected for the paragraph in Format - Paragraph, tab Outline/numbering. This is automatically set when you use the Heading styles. It is possible to set outline level for a paragraph independently of styles, but this is rarely a good idea. Instead, adjust the format by modifying heading styles so they suit your preferences.