Author Topic: Trying to open multiple files per window  (Read 5977 times)

jeff.campbell

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Trying to open multiple files per window
« on: September 20, 2018, 01:01:21 PM »
Hello,

I recently upgraded to 2017 Pro, and lost a bunch of settings and preferences. Most importantly, I've lost the ability to have multiple files open in a window.  Opening a file now replaces the one I have open instead of opening a second file tab.

Under Editing -> Editor Windows, I've set "Files per window" to "Multiple files share window."  What else am I missing to have multiple files open at a time?

davehohl

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2018, 07:58:16 PM »
If you change the "Files per window" setting to "One file per window" you should get a set of tabs that allow you to switch among files. Also, if you want to see multiple files at once, you can use the "Window" menu bar item and choose among options to great a new tab group in various locations, or to split a window.

jeff.campbell

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2018, 08:28:07 PM »
Well, that fixed it.  I can't say the way the option is named makes sense, but that was the issue.  Thanks!

Mike

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2018, 03:09:05 PM »
It might help to think of Tabs = Windows. If you want a Tab for every file opened, pick “One File Per Window”.

In the option 'Tools > Options > Editing > Editor Windows' / "Files per window":

"Multiple files share window" is intended to mean that multiple files share a single window. (You can only see a single window/file at a time, with no tabs.)

"One file per window" means that each file has its own window or another way to say it is that there is a different window/tab per file. (Multiple tabs show multiple files, or multiple files shows multiple windows/tabs.)


I think the majority of users always want to see multiple tabs/files/windows, with one file in each window. (One file per window)


There are a few reasons that users get the setting "Multiple files share window":
1) The user chose SlickEdit emulation at some point which defaults to “Multiple files share the same window”, or
2) The user actually chose “Multiple files share the same window” at some point, maybe just playing around with options.


Perhaps we can consider different descriptions/verbiage for this option. Suggestions are welcome.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2018, 03:12:45 PM by Mike »

Graeme

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2018, 12:01:43 AM »
ok, I have some hopefully constructive suggestions.

In the Window menu there are items zoom-toggle, one-window, duplicate, link-window, and reset-window-layout.  None of these are intuitive, not even zoom-toggle and the help in un-helpful.  Is it possible these are all relics from the old mdi style setup.  The help for zoom-window says  <quote> Zooms the current window to as large as possible. If the current window has already been zoomed, the previous window configuration is restored.</>  When I use the command, I don't see anything that looks like zooming, for me it shows or hides buff tabs.  The only reason I use this command is because I don't usually want to see any buff-tabs and they sometimes show up unexpectedly.

Suggestion one : have a menu option "Show/hide file tabs".  When file tabs are toggled to "show"  - automatically change the "files per window" config setting if it's wrong.
Suggestion two : if the "relic" menu options are still meaningful, move them to a sub-menu called "Manage windows". 
Suggestion three : it seems you can press F1 when an mdi menu is showing but not many people will think of this.  How about having a "help" option in the actual menu.
Suggestion four : for suggestion one above make it have a sub-menu that has  1) hide file tabs  2) show one file tab  3) show all file tabs.

Suggestion five : is there any practical reason to have the "files per window" configuration option at all since the file tabs can be turned on and off dynamically.  If there is a practical reason to have it then the help should explain clearly what that is  - and the same for the "relic" commands listed above.  I just tried the "one window" command to see what it does and now I see only one file tab with no way of getting back to "all file tabs".  I'm afraid to try reset-window-layout in case it does something I can't reverse. By the way, the help for the window menu is missing some things.

Suggestion six : try and make the help for the window options more specific.  I have to be honest and admit that I really don't know what is meant by the term "window" in the help because I have the option "Files per window" set to "one file per window"  - yet I have only one edit window showing so my brain is trying to tell me that a window is some kind of underlying implementation detail that I don't want to know about.  The "Duplicate" command looks theoretically useful except that when you use it, you don't get a second window  - you get a second buffer for the current file so maybe it should be called "Duplicate buffer".

Suggestion seven : the sub-menu mentioned in suggestion four above could have options "float buffer" and "duplicate and float buffer".

Suggestion eight : since there is confusion about what is meant by the term "Window" for the setting "Files per window", change the name to reflect what it does in practical terms, if it does anything more than allow multiple buff tabs.

« Last Edit: December 08, 2018, 12:03:40 AM by Graeme »

Clark

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2018, 04:08:45 PM »
There are places where the term Document Tab is used but it is supposed to mean the physical tab and not the editor window which is displayed below it. A possibly full and more accurate term would be Document Tab edit window. This is simply too long which is why it's not used. The docs use editor window or edit window. The "Window menu" can be thought of short for "editor window".

The term File tabs can be confused with the File Tabs tool window. This is why we use the term Document tab (or at least try to).

The "Files per window" option definitely must stay. A ton of users (including myself) use the setting "Multiple files share window". For most, this option will never be changed. Typically a user chooses an emulation and never touches this option. It is a very advanced option. Only a very small number of users change this option after selecting an emulation. There is no perfect description for this option which is why it hasn't been changed.
   
The term buffer means loaded file data. Using Window>Duplicate does not duplicate the buffer data. It duplicates the editor window and adds another Document tab for it.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2018, 05:36:36 PM by Clark »

Graeme

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2018, 08:22:56 PM »
Just wondering, why do you use the multiple files share window option?

Clark

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2018, 08:33:17 PM »
I’m used to working this way. The tabs don’t buy me anything because I typically have more files open than will fit. I tried switching but didn’t like it as much.

Graeme

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2018, 05:05:03 AM »
I don't understand (nothing unusual).  Like you I don't use doc tabs and I almost always have more files open than can be shown  - plus I have my own files tool-window with single click.  Now I just discovered there is a config option called "zoom (hide tabs) when one window" that I didn't know about - mine is set to auto.

I almost always hide all buffer tabs using zoom-toggle.  If I change "files per window" to "multiple files share window" I don't see any difference in behaviour from "one file per window".

It seems that the "files per window" setting matters only when doc tabs are visible and it then selects between "one doc tab" or "all doc tabs".  - However, now I see that if there is a split window, the doc tabs are always shown (you can't turn them off with zoom toggle) so now you have to have "files per window" set to "multiple files share window" to stop lots of doc tabs appearing.  If that's all it does, maybe the "files per window" option could be called "Number of visible doc tabs"  -  none, one or all.

dunkers

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2018, 05:08:51 AM »
Just wondering, why do you use the multiple files share window option?

I like to have two windows side by side. In one I usually edit, in the other I usually refer (though that can change). I don't ever worry about rearranging windows because they never move, never have to look through a zillion tabs for the file I want, etc. The GUI is always the same, so therefore below my radar and all my concentration is on the actual file contents, rather than the mechanics of displaying them.

Have to say that if ever SE removes this multi-files per window feature I won't be upgrading any more.

Graeme

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2018, 07:52:22 AM »
Just wondering, why do you use the multiple files share window option?

I like to have two windows side by side. In one I usually edit, in the other I usually refer (though that can change). I don't ever worry about rearranging windows because they never move, never have to look through a zillion tabs for the file I want, etc. The GUI is always the same, so therefore below my radar and all my concentration is on the actual file contents, rather than the mechanics of displaying them.

Have to say that if ever SE removes this multi-files per window feature I won't be upgrading any more.

I still don't understand.  Assuming you have a split window, AFAICS, the only difference between "multi files per window" and "one file per window" is whether each edit window shows lots of tabs or one tab only (when you're in split screen mode)  - which is why no-one can ever understand what this configuration option actually does.  Just because there are lots of tabs showing doesn't mean you have to use them to select a file  - you can still select a file by however you do it when there's only one tab showing.  As Mike said in the beginning <quote> It might help to think of Tabs = Windows </>  - but no-one is going to equate a Tab with a Window.  "Multi-files per window" is nothing to do with being able to have a split window  - you can still have a split window when you have "one file per window" selected.

I hardly ever use split window mode because in most of the code I work with there is quite often long lines and I use a kind of large font - Consolas Bold 13.

Graeme

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2018, 08:12:22 AM »
Also there's a kind of benefit to having multiple tabs showing which is that if you select a sort order of "recently viewed", the left most tab is always the currently viewed tab and left to right is the files in the order you last viewed them. next-buff-tab then alternates between the last two files you looked at.

dunkers

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2018, 09:42:11 AM »
It's not a split window, it's two windows tiled. Don't know if that makes any difference but to a pedant it's important :)

Although I am not a fan of tabs in general (I prefer a new browser window instead of many tabs, for instance) I do appreciate having a couple of tabs per window too, to keep track of which few files I'm viewing in the dual viewports. it's much simpler than selecting from the tab bar (which tends to fill with files and become pretty useless in short order) or the open files dropdown, and acts as a kind of sub-selection for that window.

Graeme

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2018, 10:21:18 AM »
Ah, thanks for pointing that out.  I don't use tiling but tiling doesn't work if you have "one file per window" because it creates a tiny window for every open file you have when you do a tile command.  If you want to be able to use the tiling commands in the window menu you have to have "multiple files per window" selected.  Thanks!

dunkers

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Re: Trying to open multiple files per window
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2018, 04:52:29 PM »
Is there any real difference between tiling two windows and splitting one window, apart from the tiling issues? Whenever I start a new project my first act on opening a file is to duplicate the window and then tile, to get my preferred layout, but clearly just splitting it is quicker and seems to have similar functionality (I am sure that at one time it didn't, but I can't pinpoint when since I very rarely used a split).