Powertoys: Tabbing Features

[vexvoltage]

With the release of the new command line system for W10 I think this kind of feature is a no brainier. Here is another solution for reference: TidyTabs

[The-MAZZTer]

Sets would be an interesting candidate for a PowerToy but it might require OS-level integration (not sure how it worked) so it would have to be baked in and thus not really an optional PowerToy.

However it seems like Sets is dead. Edge tabs were a big part of Sets but since Edge is being killed in favor of a Chromium-derived browser which already has its own tab solution it probably didn't make sense to continue. Plus, it would not be easy if even possible to get them working 100% with third-party apps that were not designed with them in mind.

Given Windows Terminal has its own tab solution and Explorer sounds like it will get its own I would guess Sets is completely dead. Office may also gets its own tabs is a prediction I would make. But we won't see a unified tab solution from MS.

I recommend Stardock's Groupy if you want Sets. It works very well for me, though it is a paid app.

[jaimecbernardo]

Hi @vexvoltage ,
Thank you for the suggestion. Could you please elaborate on this idea?
From the link, it seems like you are suggesting a powertoy that could group different windows into a "Container Window" that would have the origin Windows as tabs. Is that it?

[vexvoltage]

@jaimecbernardo You are pretty close with what you are saying is the intention but as it is more for the same application. So if I have 3 instances of word open instead of three full independent windows they simply got tabbed together.

Automatically group instances of the same application together. That is the dream integration.

If I had to expand it more Look at the Stardock groupy app. They have examples of allowing apps within the same ecosystem to be tabbed. (Look below. The is Stardocks App)

Thanks @The-MAZZTer for showing me their solution.

[AnuthaDev]

Hey @crutkas

This project might help in implementing this feature:
https://github.com/FloatingShuYin/WindowTabs

[Omega2k3]

Just noticed that there was a clarification requested on the tabbed explorer suggestion. I don't like Groupy due to how it groups unrelated apps often even with filters set up (like when opening task manager) and tabs windows intended to be viewed in a smaller formats, like when installing a game on Steam for example. I just want a clean solution for tabbed file explorer and have switched back to using Clover for this until hopefully the functionality is integrated into Powertoys, which is a must-have for me because of fancyzones.

[pdec]

This would be a great feature to have!
I have used Clover for a few years although it keeps on hanging/crashing from time to time and, to be honest, it's not well optimized.
I would appreciate just a simple tabbing option within the Explorer with shortcuts for a new tab, window, and history (open-closed tab/window).
Having an option to group/dock the same apps' windows is a nice extra option but having multiple different apps in a single tabbed window does not seem to increase the clarity of opened apps and windows on the desktop/task bar.

Tabbing feature is really convenient and increases productivity so it would be a great addition to PowerToys!

[yaichenbaum]

This is something I would find useful, one of the features I like about Windows Sets was the option to create tab groups and restore them later on, this was really helpful for productivity and getting back into my workflow after restarting Windows.

[appauldev]

Hi! What's the latest update about this? Thank you!

[Chaython]

Sets was a thing, MS incompetency cancelled it, good though, because they don't know how to deprecate broken legacy components.
Other examples of this is Groupy by Stardock
QTtabbar is the only foss one I know, died long ago.
I personally don't like "Sets" concept, we have virtual desktops to mix windows to a single context.
But I wish the file manager, CMD [but now we have terminal], and notepad had tabs... But MS likes doing everything the worst they can to inspire others to make a good alternative. Basically every app should have tabs. But if you want context seperate instances, then use virtual desktops.

[bonzibudd]

QTTabBar seems to be the best solution as of right now, it just got an update last month. However, it is far from an elegant solution and requires a lot of configuration for a good experience. It also doesn’t look like it’s going open-source anytime soon. Also, I may be wrong, but I don’t think that actually integrating with Windows would be much of a problem, can anyone confirm this? As long as the functionality is there, and it’s not too intrusive, I don’t see much of a problem. There have been other similar title-bar modifying programs over the years.

[Chaython]

Hi Bonzibudd, older revision of QTTabBar are open source
Source codes and Plugin Lib (2015-10-26) http://qttabbar.wdfiles.com/local--files/qttabbar/QTPluginLib_SourceFiles.zip
The previous repo https://sourceforge.net/projects/qttabbar/files/ though I believe the maintainer died[?], as the maintainer seemed happy[content with ongoing development] and last blog post was saying "update soon" sad.

[bonzibudd]

Interesting, I didn't realize that.

[xan2622]

Hi.
You might want to have a look at Better Explorer (coded in C#).

It's an open-source software but unfortunately, it has been published under a special license:
CDDL + a custom license.

https://gainedge.org/better-explorer/
https://github.com/Gainedge/BetterExplorer