Question about floating editor

[JeffB]

When I grab a document tab and drag it out to create a floating edit window, it automatically adds the Projects, Defs, Class, Symbols, and Open Tool Windows along with it.  Is there a way to control which of these additional Tool Windows are added, or at a minimum, add the Files Tool window to the default list of Windows created?

[Sandra]

You can change the default layout for floating windows by right-clicking on a document tab in a floating window and using the Layouts submenu. 

You can add the Files tool window to a floating window (and make any other desired changes), save that layout, and then set it as the new default.  Hope that helps!

[JeffB]

Thanks, Sandra.  I was wondering how the new layout macros worked, since I hadn't seen them being used in the main menu.

So with the new layout options, I was expecting something like Sony Vegas offers where you can arrange all the docked windows and save the layout, then easily switch between saved layouts.  For instance, one layout may be optimal for editing, whereas another layout may be optimal for debugging.  Is it possible to save and switch layouts for the main Slickedit window where all the tools windows are normally docked ?  The only thing I can find that is related to this is "Reset Window Layout".

[Sandra]

You can do that for the floating windows, but not for the main window (yet).  I think that will be available in a future version.

[JeffB]

Thanks, Sandra.

I must be using the floating concept incorrectly or don't understand it's purpose. For instance, it seems that the floating window needs it's own version of all the Tool Windows.  The clipboards, References, Find Symbol, Preview ... all seem to only work in the window where they are docked (main window for me).  When opening the Find dialog, if the main window is in focus, moving the cursor in the floating editor (causing that window to get focus) causes the cursor position in the editor window to jump to one of the found locations from the previous search.

I'm having a hard time finding the floating editor window useful.  All I really want is an additional editor window, but it seems to be way more complicated than that.

[Rodney]

I'm having trouble understanding exactly what the problem is. Can you break it down step-by-step? Note observed vs. expected behavior where you feel that is important. Thanks.

++rodney

[JeffB]

Sure.  I usually have two editor windows open, although they can be a bit small.  Sometimes, I just want a third editor window that I can move to another monitor, so I create a third one and float it.  I would like this third editor window to behave just like the other two, just that it's not docked.  In the main window, I have other Tool Windows, such as Bookmarks, Clipboards, References, Find Symbol, and Search Results, all docked.  None of these windows have any control/link to the floated third editor window.  For instance, if I want to double clip a clipboard to paste something, when I move the mouse to the main window to access the docked Clipboard Tool Window, one of the other two docked editor window tabs is highlighted and the clipboard contents are pasted to that window. 

The References window is similar.  If I double click a reference, it always causes one of the main editor windows to jump to the referenced location.

As for the Find dialog, it just has querky behavior, that is probably just a side-effect of the behaviors mentioned above.

Hopefully, that helps clarify.  Again, I just want a third floating editor window without having to duplicate all the existing Tool Windows to get the Tools to work.

Jeff

[Rodney]

So I tried reproducing what you described with the Clipboards tool-window. I _think_ I may have seen the problem once, but could not get it to happen again. Perhaps we are not tracking the current mdiwindow in all cases, which would definitely explain the behavior you see.

I need the info from your Help>About SlickEdit, Program Information tab. From past posts it appears you are on Linux (Kubuntu?), but I need to be sure.

[JeffB]

I sent you a pm, Rodney.  Try looking at References with a floating editor window.  If I do "F3" in the floated window to go to the next found reference, it seems to work, but then going back to the main window and double clicking references causes various editor windows to jump to different spots, not always even at a spot where a reference was found.  It may be complicated when both a main edit window and the floated edit window have the same file, or it could be that they just end up with the same file from walking the references.

I'm surprised you don't see this.  Floated edit windows are pretty much unusable for me (other than just editing the file).  On the bright side, the Files Tool Windows stays open after I double click a file

[Rodney]

Jumping to the wrong location for references was a different problem that has been fixed.

[Rodney]

I got your program info thanks.

There are 3 of us trying to reproduce what you are describing with the Clipboards tool-window. No luck yet, but we will keep trying.

[Rodney]

Okay I think I understand. Your Clipboards tool-window is docked to the mainwindow, but you wanted to be able to double-click on one of the clipboards and have it paste into the floating window you were just in? Do I have that right?

If my understanding is correct, then the issue here is that your Clipboards tool-window belongs to an mdiarea (of the mainwindow), so focusing (which you are doing by double-clicking inside the tool-window) the tool-window will cause any operation to act on that particular mdiarea.

This is not a new issue. It is also the reason that we do not make the Clipboards tool-window dockable by default.

In the short-term, you can go back to making the Clipboards tool-window NOT dockable (also make sure you turn ON "Dismiss like dialog" option if you had turned it off). Then the window will always float and paste into the current mdiarea (floating or otherwise). There is an additional issue where we do not position a floating tool-window over the mdiarea you invoked it from, but we will address that.

In the long-term, I think the best we can do is to always float a new instance of the tool-window if there is not already a floating instance that is not docked with an mdiarea. That's not a commitment at this point, just thinking out loud.

++rodney

[JeffB]

Yes.  You are right, Rodney.  Thanks for looking into this, but it's not just the Clipboard Tool window.  It sounds like it's working the way it should given the MDI restrictions.  Anyway, I just stopped using the floating window since it wasn't working for me.