Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 12686
Tabbed Document Windows
Last modified: 2019-02-01 18:40:55 UTC
Hi, We've had tabbed browsing for a while in Mozilla etc. Any chance of tabbed editing? i.e. opening individual documents as tabs in OOo. Regards Craig A.
assigning to user experience team for evaluation (sounds like yet another MDI request to me)
Set to "NEW"
*** Issue 9983 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
*** Issue 20714 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
*** Issue 27737 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
*** Issue 27218 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
reassigning..
Created attachment 19505 [details] OOo Splash screen for version 2.0
Woops, attached in the wrong issue
*** Issue 39385 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
I thought this had already been decided: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=6371
Decided? People did not like StarOffice 5.2, but it really can't be compared to tabs a'la Lotus, can it? StarOffice 5.2 combined everything, it was horror. Look at the number of votes. People now know tabs from everywhere, especially Firefox that is very popular because of its use of tabs. Working with many documents in the task bar is confusing, where the hey is this and that. With tabs everything is so easy!
Well, if the idea is up for discussion all over again, then I think http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=20701 will have to be decided - the use of tabs within a document. The stylist and Navigator have largely made this second idea redundant, and I refer the house to http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=7833
In answer to bobharvey in duplicate issue 6371: [And would you have a spreadsheet tab next to a wp tab? or not?] The answer is YES! I usually have 10-15 documents open. Example: 5 different MS Accesses instances, 4 or 5 text/Writer documents, 2 or 3 spreadsheet/Calc documents. I am using [cutting/pasting] information out of each of these “repositories” to assemble new documents, story boards, business cases, or programs. This often includes 2 or 3 new “story boards” in simultaneous production drawing from these same 10-15 different sources. To have the ability to simplify all my OO open documents [including the new Base] into tabs and show one instance on the Windows Taskbar, would leave room on the Taskbar for the other 5 or 10 programs that are being used to support the “story”. This is not to say that I wouldn't want to have 2 or 3 instances of OO open, each with their own set of tabs. I tend to do this with Firefox, opening 2 or 3 instances and having each instance host tabs on a particular theme or story. Here are some rough thoughts on where the tabs would naturally fit. Window / “TitleBar” File/Edit/View “ControlBar” 1st “ToolBar” 2nd “ToolBar” Add a 3rd Toolbar known as a “TabBar” This “Tab Bar” would have a “tab” or “button” of all the open documents listed in the menu item of “Window” on the ControlBar. Justification: 1)In FireFox, the tabs are *after/below* all the Tool/Control bars and *before/above* the working space. It would seem a natural fit to have a “TabBar” below the two default tool bars of each OO Application. The trick would be to get the ControlBar, ToolBars, and working space to change in relation to the type of document that is clicked in the TabBar. Similar to when switching between tabs in Firefox, the URL bar changes to the right web address. [Of course switching to the correct ControlBar, ToolBars, and Workspace would be a hair more complex than changing text in a URL bar =) ] 2)After spending time in FireFox, it would seem unnatural to have the tabs above the ControlBar. 3)Having the tabs on the bottom of the instance also seems awkward. Document changing functionality seems naturally grouped at the top. Also, some applications [like Calc and Draw] have tabs near the bottom for certain functions already built into the application. The eyes also draw to the title bar on the top to see the which document is open, so tabs [which depict which document your working on and have open] would “feel” better near the top. In regards to the referenced issues: 7833 -- is a completely unique concept not related to tabs. Document tabs provide *only* the function of aggregating open documents and providing quick navigation between those documents. 6371 – I have never used StarOffice, nor do I know how long ago 5.2 was in its prime. Using Firefox tabs creates a bit of a paradigm shift in your thinking. But as most users attest, once the mind grasps the the concept, it's near impossible to turn back. Now that a small percentage of the population has a grasp of this “tab” concept, these users will naturally want it to flow into the rest of their workspace because of the organization and ease it provides. I see the concept growing and maturing just as having multiple “windows” did. 20701 – is a completely unique concept from open document tabs and proposes providing tabs that reflect sections in one document and NOT tabs for each open document in OO. If this feature comes to fruition, I see it as a feature of the application itself. Example: Providing small tabs at the bottom of the Writer application much the same as the tabs in Calc. Since I am fairly new to contributing, I would be more than willing to help in a usability study [as bobharvey mentioned in issue 6371 ] or in other ways. I just need to be pointed in the right direction. One last hair-brained idea: A "plugin" could be made for Firefox to allow a tab to open an instance of an OO application. The same way "FireFTP" [a unique FTP Application] opens in a tab of FireFox. I'll post this suggestion over on Mozilla.
Some reactions: 1. Yes I suppose it is an MDI request. I much prefer MDI to cluttering my work space with multiple redundent windows. 2. Comparing a tabbed interface with StarOffice 5.2 is ...... well I want to say foolish but that is insulting and I don't mean that.......it misses the point. They are not the same by any means. (But then once I got used to StarOffice 5.2 I could work well with it.) However there was never a good reason for SO 5.2 to behave as it did. A tabbed interface need not, should not, get in the way of any other applications. 3. At least I want the option for this. Norman Prather
Here's my .02, I guess. I got interested in this issue after attempting to edit a large multi-file master document and grew really frustrated with multiple individual windows when Calc already contains tabs for multiple spreadsheets. My interest is to use the tabs similarly to Calc, wherein each separate tab is still a part of the same file, but logically separated from the rest of the document. It makes editing or writing books or other files with logical "chapters" easier without having to reference external documents or keep multiple windows open for cross referencing while editing the file. I certainly would not want to return to the StarOffice 5.2 days. It was really quite horrid having to maintain the Star desktop _and_ the underlying UNIX or Windows desktop. I just want something similar to a feature already present in Calc and other spreadsheet programs to be present in my word- processor. Approximately how much of the Calc tab code would need to be changed/re-written in order to make it work in Writer?
At some point there need to be features that make OOo stand out from the other offerings. What better way than to offer tabs? Tabs make the experience unique to OOo and create value for working in OOo vs. others. This is a similar move that had to be made in the browser world. Firefox (and mozilla in general) has several features that allow it to be a better browsing experience than IE can offer and thus there are many users who choose Firefox, not simply "not IE." We need people who choose this Office suite because it is unique, not because it is simply another option.
I thought this would be a good idea, as we already have tabs in spread sheets and sometimes it's nice to be able to work on more than one document at the same time, it also means less clutter in the taskbar I guess Paul PS Best of luck with openoffice 2.0
The main reason I would like to see tabbed documents in OOo is this: tab documents would allow me to handle the information (opening, processing an storage) in an integrated and tidy structure, i.e. as thematic dossiers and not only as isolated documents. This is a new functionality whose usefulness goes farther than simple "nice" experiences (à la M$), and even than the usefulnees we can have when browsing on internet. If we think a little bit, we will see that it is precisely this way -integrated handling of information through dossiers- that people try to do their work in every office, school, etc. A couple of examples: a dossier (a group of related information in the form of several files) about a prospective client; a dossier about a candidate for a vacancy; a dossier about an investment project; a dossier about a research or rapport at the school or university; a dossier with all the letters I have written to somebody; a dossier about... you name it. Now, which program do you think, can incorporate -I would even say it requires- this functionality in a natural way? M$, where you have all kind of "niceties" but without order (a very pleasant mess)? Or Open Office, which at its very base (and not like inM$ as only one more nicety) has the structure of templates, styles and navigator and the integration between its different modules from within each module? I think tabbed documents would be "only" a natural extension in OOo, but a very useful one especially in terms of work productivity (of course, it would be, besides, pleasant). If M$ would offer sth. comparable, it will have to change its approach (at least in relation to text treatment), and not only stuff a computer with useless niceties (after a whole year working with OOo I go sometimes back to look at Word. It feels like an elephant full bells and beads). I left M$ because of this kind of functionalities offered by OOo, because they allowed me to increase my productivity and efficiency, not because it was "nicer" (well, it was nicer for the quality of my work). Regards, gonzalez
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Here's an idea. Someone install koffice and try using koshell, the KOffice Workspace. That's really cool. . . . Of course the koffice apps kind of suck (though frame-based desktop publishing is awesome; of course they confused it with word processing but eh).
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Big hatip to Craig A. for bringing this issue to the fore. I am a long-time OpenOffice user who is frequently working in anywhere from 4 - 10 different writer documents at a time and having so many windows open at once is confusing and also time-consuming to my work flow. As others have mentioned, the original reason I switched from IE to firefox was to take advantage of the power of tabbed browsing and this has enhanced my web usage beyond belief. The possibility of having only one OpenOffice window running with multiple file tabs and an option to place the tab bar at either the top/bottom or side of my window would have the same impact on my OpenOffice experience. I can't wait to see soem development in this area. Cheers, Z
I too have been using OO for a while and love it. Tabbed documents would make this program even more appealing. I often work with many documents and Excel sheets and tabs would greatly ease that.
Like many of the other commentators, I LOVE the Tabs in Firefox. I also agree that there are good intrinsic reasons to add Tabs to an Office Suite. My real-world project often involve using more than one Office Suite application. I'd love to be able to: 1. Open Writer, Calc, etc. in a single window, each in its own Tab. 2. SAVE and OPEN all of such open Tabs as ONE document. It would be like a supercharged version of the "Bookmark All Tabs" function in Firefox, or maybe an enhancement of the Master Document feature in OOo 2.0. The goal is to open all the related documents in a project at once, and just keep working. Something like this already exists in Calc. But there is no logical reason to limit it to Calc -- except this is what Microsoft does with Excel. I agree that it would be great to create a BETTER user experience than Microsoft does. 3. Have the Tabs on top, like in Firefox, not at the bottom, like in Calc and Excel. Tabs on top would be consistent with the familiar GUI approach that controls and menus are on top, and the user's content is below them. 4. Search, Replace and apply Formatting/Styles across all open documents in all the Tabs, regardless of which application is in each Tab. This would help to keep all related documents consistent across applications. Thanks in advance for considering these points.
I agree that this is a great idea. But here's a couple thoughts: 1. Allow the user to turn off the tabs, if desired. Some people actually prefer a non-tabbed experience (yes, I know, hard to understand, but they do) 2. It would be nice to allow the user to select where they want the tab bar to appear (something like how the start menu/taskbar can be moved in windows, but still inside openffice), then the user can decide where they like it. 3. Keep up the good work. your product rocks!
There have been a lot of great comments regarding this issue. I have voted for this comment, and I would like to add my own thoughts. The evolution of tabbed interfaces has been a gradual and interesting one. Tabbed interfaces can help tremendously when dealing with a lot of information. However, it should be remembered that the first or even subsequent attempts weren't always good. So, this issue shouldn't be evaluated in the light of a product from years ago, and points should be learned from successful interfaces. Firefox has been used as an example, and I believe it is a good one. Tabs are optional. If you would like to have several windows open, each with several tabs, that is possible. If you want one window open with several tabs, that is possible. If you want lots of windows open without any tabs, that is possible. Also, a tab bar only shows up in Firefox if multiple tabs are open. It's not an in-your-face feature. If tabs are implemented in OOo (and I hope they are), I would like the same flexibility because it is the reason why Firefox is able to appeal to users regardless of their preference for tabbed browsing. There shouldn't even be a need to turn off tabs because they shouldn't be obvious if a person doesn't want to use them. The behavior of tabs in Firefox seems like an obvious enhancement for OOo because as browsers are used to gather, organize, and create information, OOo is also used to gather, create, and organize information. The use of tabs in Firefox can be looked to for inspiration, and additional enhancements could even be made. It should be possible to not only move tabs around within a window, but also to move tabs from one window to another, to create windows from tabs, or to create tabs from windows. Being able to associate a group of files as a group of tabs would also have some obvious benefits for anyone working on a large project. I see this type of functionality as being of enormous immediate benefit to those without some type of virtual desktop functionality on their computers (mostly Windows users-the majority of the market), but I would also appreciate some of the more subtle benefits even when I am able to take advantage of virtual desktops. A lot of enhancements to the user interface are submitted for user experience evaluation. I believe that the user experience has already been proven with other programs that have tabbed interfaces.
If this implemented, can we have an *option* to turn this feature off, too? I don't like to clutter my screen with rows of tool bars, tab bars, etc.
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See Issue 62933 for a different take on this issue.
Hello All! I hope those who may be working on this issue consider the following: (1) Option of choice of where to place the tab bar (Top, Bottom, Left side or Right side - Kinda like Opera does) (2) Option of having the tab bar recede while working on the document (or clicking on a blank area of the document) and then appearing when the mouse is moved near to it. (3) Ability to turn it on or off. (4) Ability to have the tab bar automatically place itself in the desired location according to the profile of the individual that signs on to the computer. Thanks in advance to all who work on this project. SC
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I am voting for this issue. It seems to be the same as: http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=54847
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Horray See Issue 54847 It is targeted for 2.1 and Closed, Fixed read also http://framework.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=dev&msgNo=655 http://www.mail-archive.com/dev@framework.openoffice.org/msg00065.html Look at http://go-oo.org/~raul/tab-1.png http://go-oo.org/~raul/tab-2.png http://go-oo.org/~raul/tab-3.png http://go-oo.org/~raul/tab-4.png http://go-oo.org/~raul/tab-5.png
Sorry, but issue 54847 isn't the same as this. Please read the comments in issue 54847: "This task will be used to check in all sources related to the Google Summer Of Code project "Tabbed Document Windows for OOo"." What you can do now is that you can grab the extension from last years GSOC and install it into OOo to get the rudimentary tab functionality that now has been committed to the master. But Tabbed Documents is not just a technical problem (that currently is at least partially solved by issue 54847), it has more implications: - How can we make more than one tab visible at a time - How does the already existing tab functionality in Calc and Impress fit into the concept? - How should a user interface look like that allows to have several task windows each of them equipped with tabs? - Should each window containing tabs have its own "backing window"? etc. etc. All these are important user interface problems that have to be solved before we can implement the feature. Currently we are laying the technical ground for the first point of my list (multiple tabs visible).
changed component to framework
I really like this idea. If it comes to fruition, the nitty gritty features I would use are (from Firefox): Hold pointer over a tab and use mouse scroll wheel to scroll through tabs that aren't all visible at once (when you have more than about 10 tabs open). When many tabs are open, don't let the tabs get too small. Keep them big enough so that enough of the file name appears in the tab so it's recognizable. Be able to drag tabs to re-position them in the window or to another window. Be able to open all documents in single folder with an "open all in tabs" option. Be able to use the keyboard or mouse to: move from tab to tab, open a new tab, open a previously closed tab, close a tab,
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I have just bought a new PC with Vista as the OS. This has forced me to do something I had planned for a while now and that was to go from Lotus SmartSuite ME to Open Office. The first thing I looked for in OO Writer was divisions, which I find essential in Lotus WordPro. I was really disappointed to find that these are not a feature of OO. I find it really strange that something so simple (as a feature, not from a programming standpoint) and useful has not been included in OO even though it was requested almost 3 years ago. Hopefully, divisions or tabs or whatever you want to call them can be implemented in the near future.
IBM has this feature in its OOo fork "lotus symphony". Since they announced to give there code back to the OOo project, I think IBM's code could be used...
No, that won't help. They have embedded OOo into an Eclipse framework. The result is awfully slow and the memory consumption is bad (let alone stability). I doubt that everybody wants that OOo needs Eclipse to run.
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What about the Tabbed Windows Extension? http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Framework/WorkInProgress/Tabbed_Windows_Extension It already works though it's still beta and the ui has to be improved.
> What about the Tabbed Windows Extension? No thx. It just broke my installation of OOO300_m4.
Tabs would be very helpful, hope to see them soon!
Tabs well implemented and integrated would be a welcome addition to my workflow. Tabs are already proving their use in web browsers.
this issue has been opened in 2003... such a long time passed by...
... and is sad to notice that depsite 98 votes, no apparent attempt to make this feature come true was done, while a very controversial ribbon-like GUI received a lot of energy and attention....
This is Microsoft's strategic plan. Why competitors run after something they cannot pass by. ;-) I agree. Going a own way would be a smarter solution.
Yes! This would be wonderful! It's got my vote! I just think a "tabbed" interface may look better in the actual titlebar (maybe on the right, just left of the minimize, maximize, close buttons). But then again, this may be too different from what people are used to in FF. FF's tabs work so easily, can be understood so quickly, as to be a no-brainer. It shouldn't even be a query on if this can be implemented (i.e. FEATURE REQUEST). It should be a REQUIREMENT! BTW, wouldn't it be nice to then also add something like the tab addons in FF. E.g. Tab mix (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122)
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I would definitely value tabbed browsing over a ribbon interface. And I like the idea of having tabs in the title bar...maybe like the way tabs are in google chrome.
I agree with Tommy's comments. This project being open for six years should warrant strong consideration. Internet Explorer 8 uses tabs for separate windows; so does Firefox 3.5.6. There has been a freeware utility to create tabs for documents in Microsoft Office (versions 2007 and before) and version 2010 will have that feature built in. I know OpenOffice is freeware, but my impression is that Sun would like to be competitive in the market. They had a great opportunity six years ago to beat everyone to the punch on this one. They (sadly) did not, and now will appear to "follow" the competition. So come on Sun - do you want to be in the group with Microsoft? or do you want to remain in the group with Lotus Symphony (the biggest joke for an office suite on the planet)?
Another reason I'd say tabs need to be in the title bar (instead of the 3rd "new" tab-bar) is the differences in toolbars between programs. Say you have a Writer & Calc file open. If you switch between them, they may have differing lines of toolbars at the top ... which in effect would move the tab-bar up/down - this could become quite irritating after a while. Other than that, I can see 2 solutions if we don't go with the title-bar tabs: 1) Use a constant "toolbar" design like in the Renaissance project. This is probably also one of M$'s "Fluent" design reasons (i.e. Ribbon). But even some of the other proposals could work for this (e.g. http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Proposal_by_Johannes_Eva#14.1_More_about_toolbars ) 2) Only have tabs per program. I.e. don't mix Calc files with Writer files, with Draw, with Base, etc. As to the other "related" issue of "Divisions" inside the ODT file. If I understand correctly, these are available in OOo Writer if you use Master Documents. Then you have a floating / docked sidebar called the Navigator, which has a list of Sections which you can double click to goto that section. This I'd suggest having as tabs at the bottom, since the tabs would only have reference to the current document. Similar to the tabs in Calc only pertinent to the current ODS file. At least this would be consistent!
MDI is very different from tabs in 1 part of Open Office - Base. There, one would need logic that connects or constraints sub-forms - for example in a accounting app one probably allow several instances of an reports but only one of the form that adds transactions. AFAIK a tabbed UI would not connect or constraint sub-forms.
Hi This is not a tec-post! I don't know anything about how to programme the tab feature nor could I argue where it exactly would be best to implement, title bar or new tab bar. I just want to share a plug-in I came across a few days ago. I nearly do not dare to admit this, but OfficeTab (http://hi.baidu.com/officecm) is pretty much what I wanted. Not that I really consider to switch back to MS - but if you work with a lot of docs at the same time it's such a nice thing to have, this tabbed window. It's such pity that OO did not take the chance to go first with a really new feature in the realm of office productivity. And since this issue lives pretty much without any attention since 2003 (seven! years) I don't think this feature will come to OO before MS has this as a built-in in one of the next versions. Only my 2cents. Kind regards from Ger, phokian
hi, 109 votes only. do an open survey among users and you would get thousands (way over). tab interface is the way to go. It should be there already, shiny and fresh. the implementation does not matter to me, it could be one single window and tabs for all the applications, or one main window per application and tab for documents belonging to the same application, whatever... but opening 'n windows for each document is old fashion. It is cumbersome. It clutters the panel, etc. Remember windoze explorer 5-6? How many users have switched to Firefox, not because it was open source, but because the tab browser was innovator and handy. Sure enough, OO is in the true spirit of GnuCash ;-), another old camel with the weight of an elephant. Unless to have a shotgun as argument, tab interface is not gonna happen any time soon.
hi, 109 votes only. do an open survey among users and you would get thousands (way over). tab interface is the way to go. It should be there already, shiny and fresh. the implementation does not matter to me, it could be one single window and tabs for all the applications, or one main window per application and tab for documents belonging to the same application, whatever... but opening 'n windows for each document is old fashion. It is cumbersome. It clutters the panel, etc. Remember windoze explorer 5-6? How many users have switched to Firefox, not because it was open source, but because the tab browser was innovator and handy. Sure enough, OOo is in the true spirit of GnuCash ;-), another old camel with the weight of an elephant. Unless to have a shotgun as argument, tab interface is not gonna happen any time soon.
I think tabbed windows, split windows for a single document ans split windows for multiple document should be considered together. (sorry i'm french speaking) I was proud to use OOo and i recommend it to many people, but i start to become ashamed, when MS user show me the split windows feature of Word. It is not a gadget but a feature that increase productivity dramatically when working with multiple and long document. The 3 features are not necessary only if you have two screen witch is pretty rare ! But with increasing screen resolution ans size and adoption of 16/10 or 16/9 format, A modern software should be split and handle multiple document in a fast and easy way. To me priority of the 3 features are 1st: window splitting for single doc 2nd window splitting for to docs 3rd tabbed window Firefox wich is used for reading had implemented tabs at first and secondly a add-on had allowed to split the window to compare two docs. For OOo Writer it should be inverse. At first you have to be able to work with to or a long doc in one unique split windows. Secondly, cosmetics could be increased using tabs to avoid using windows manager of the task bar. Nevertheless, each doc should be opened either in a split windows, a tab or a new windows. Using OOo in Ubuntu nead this, because, as you can use multiple virtual desktop (compiz cube) and start a new work on a new virtual desktop, forcing tabbs isn't a good choice.
Tabs should have the option of being opened in a new window. Similar to what FF does by allowing to Open in current tab, new tab or new window. Also it would be nice to be able to strip & add tabs between separate windows - also as FF is capable of. This problem of tabs with multiple desktops or dual screens have also come up on the Thunder Bird forum: http://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla_messaging/topics/thread_visualization_as_in_threadvis?utm_content=topic_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=reply_notification I think it may be a bad thing to introduce tabs the way Mozila did with TB. If it's only half done, then people will complain even more than not having them at all.
The split window's a nice idea as well. Especially if tabs become a reality it could be a necessity. Try to think back to the "older" MDI interface, where the docs where windows inside the main program's window. You had a Tile / Cascade Windows option which performed this basic split-view idea. With the "newer" SDI interface you either need to stretch the windows manually or have some other program which can arrange them for you.
Some people friendly explain that it is possible to work on different part of the same document with two windows. For me, multi windowing was a discovery of the year 1995. Despite handling one unique document in two windows was probably impossible. Well, this is not the problem. We are in 2010. Splitting windows (19292, 19291, 4508) is a feature requested 8 YEARS AGO ! It is obvious that this feature will make working with OOo more efficient and more user friendly. It's time to move ! The tabs will became necessary soon or later too. Nevertheless a tab bar will suppress a part of the screen area. The task bar witch provide nearly the same feature, can be set to disappear automatically(windows, gnome). So the desktop task bar don't waste space. It should be take in considération. PS pinting a document and using it to work on two part of the doc is not a solution either. Don't suggest it ! Thanks for the time.
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I hope LibreOffice guys will fix this issue before OOo guys
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I am voting for this issue. I really like this idea.
(In reply to comment #27) > Like many of the other commentators, I LOVE the Tabs in Firefox. I also agree > that there are good intrinsic reasons to add Tabs to an Office Suite. My > real-world project often involve using more than one Office Suite application. > I'd love to be able to: > > 1. Open Writer, Calc, etc. in a single window, each in its own Tab. > > 2. SAVE and OPEN all of such open Tabs as ONE document. It would be like a > supercharged version of the "Bookmark All Tabs" function in Firefox, or maybe > an > enhancement of the Master Document feature in OOo 2.0. The goal is to open all > the related documents in a project at once, and just keep working. Something > like this already exists in Calc. But there is no logical reason to limit it to > Calc -- except this is what Microsoft does with Excel. I agree that it would be > great to create a BETTER user experience than Microsoft does. > > 3. Have the Tabs on top, like in Firefox, not at the bottom, like in Calc and > Excel. Tabs on top would be consistent with the familiar GUI approach that > controls and menus are on top, and the user's content is below them. > > 4. Search, Replace and apply Formatting/Styles across all open documents in all > the Tabs, regardless of which application is in each Tab. This would help to > keep all related documents consistent across applications. > > Thanks in advance for considering these points. I think that this is the best suggestion on tabs. Would be perfect for mixing report templates that require a combination of WRITER and CALC functions.
Whaddya mean "trivial"? Tabs in everything have been standard since 2005! Get with the program, freetards! God, your collective smugness is atrocious, I hate open sores but I have to either deal with you peoples' crap or give Microsoft $300 just to send letters. And don't even get me STARTED on that garbage heap Google Documents!! Man, what is WRONG with you people?
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Can't believe it's been over 10 years since this was requested. Guess this will never happen at this rate. Just glad Lotus WordPro from more than 15 years ago which has these is still usable even in Windows 8. The lack of tabs is why I cannot fully convert over to OOo. Shame.
(In reply to xerty from comment #77) It looks like some work was done to bring tabs via an extension to OOo in 2008-2010, but then development stopped : https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Tabbed_Windows_Extension_Discussion It looked like this was getting there. Shame it seemed to just die.
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opening individual documents as tabs , it's possible with microsoft office with the extension OfficeTabs, it was possible with lotus symphony ,with the first version of OpenOffice (before 4 and 3) , why it's not possible with the last version of OOo ? and all webbrowsers are using this today! EG
I'm deeply disappointed that OOo no longer has tabbed browsing. Actually, it's the mean default of OOo. The constant creation of threads asking this feature is the prove of a real neeed. Please guys work on it!
*** Issue 109632 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Appache OpenOffice (AOO) put as many taskbar icon as documents are opened which is annoying (near the other required Taskbar icons) for our daily work, or at home. Every other software has "tabbing interface" like: every browsers like Firefox, Chrome Notepad++ gedit etc. etc. etc. so every newer program has "tabbing surface" - why AOO (and Libre Office) is missing from this list? This "tabbing interface" is a general interface currently. Why the developers of any office tools doesn't want to implement this feature into their software? What is the barrier? I would like to ask everybody to encourag the AOO development to implement the OPTIONAL "tabbing interface" into AOO. Who is the responsible team for this? Who can encourag them to implement this feature into AOO? How can I create a survey about this or anything else to give any chance to implement this required feature into AOO (and Libre Office) Maybe this way required to draw the attention for this important and required feature for the office tools? Many thanks
I have created 2 petitions to forve the AOO and LO teams to implement the tabbing interface: Petition for (optional) “tabbing interface” in Apache OpenOffice and/or Libre Office http://www.petitions24.com/petition_for_optional_tabbing_interface_in_apache_openoffice http://www.thepetitionsite.com/204/055/517/petition-for-optional-tabbing-interface-in-apache-openoffice-andor-libre-office/ Please activate you on them. Also please share the links. Man thanks.
13 years and we are still waiting for this feature ?!? I am still using Lotus Word Pro due to this feature being missing from OOO
(In reply to xerty from comment #85) > 13 years and we are still waiting for this feature ?!? > I am still using Lotus Word Pro due to this feature being missing from OOO Petitions and votes are nice. They don't accomplish much. The actual situation is that there are no volunteer developers with the capacity, capability, and will to make this sort of modification, along with the internationalization, QA, documentation, etc., that are also required. This feature will not be worked on in the foreseeable future.
Thank you for your candour and honesty. Shame to hear that, but such is the situation.
If you happen to know any C++ programmers with some free time, encourage them to volunteer to contribute to AOO and we might be able to do more.
There appears to be a confusion over this issue. It appears to me that the thing that is desired is for the Window menu list to link to a tab when an item is selected instead of another window, not a re-write of the whole program. I cannot understand how this entails a big deal. Surely there are already places within the code that allows this sort of branching. No one is asking for another Writer instance, but rather allow Writer to think that a tab is another window. If, on the other hand, separate program instances are required by the inner workings of Writer for each document (a huge programming flaw IMHO), then it is still only a display issue. How and where a document is displayed is surely a separate function from the other duties of a word processor. Perhaps a programmer on the project can explain for us here. Thanks.
Now, it's 2018! Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides can all open singly or in multiple instances beside each other in a single instance of a tabbed Chrome browser. The beauty of it! Only one problem for me now, though. I can't do OO/LO basic programming on them! But what if Chrome were an Open Office browser within which I could open OO/LO writer, calc, draw, etc, and still do my macros on them, and so on? How great! Here's what is so great about a tabbed system - one click, and you are right where you left another document. The convenience! The efficiency! But I guess that's not the issue. We all know it would be a great feature. Who and who are going to step a little back and look and the structure of the open office system or application to see what may be needed, break it up into smaller tasks, and yet smaller sub-tasks that a bigger group of volunteer programmers could work on? Maybe there are not enough volunteers. But if one considers all the other less important open office work that has gone on in the past 15 years this issue has been on the front burner, it can only be lack of skill or poor judgment. I certainly don't have the skill to deal with this issue. At least for now. But I feel enough of a commitment to Open Office I've used freely for some years now to learn some new skills and join in helping OO/LO to leap over this embarrassing hurdle that other office suite developers appear to have all easily scaled. I've just downloaded and am trying to install the open office sdk. Let me see what I can learn about it. Then, maybe I'll have something else to say on this thread. But how delighted many like me would be if before then this matter would have been settled.
One other thing. The Google example I gave above gives me another thought. How about OOO or LOO teaming up with Mozilla Firefox? Or even gedit or note++ group, if there is enough compatibility? The combined effort may help break whatever jinx is holding back OO/LO from the tabbed document windows feature.
Or maybe, OO/LO could get one or two persons on these other teams to join a brain storming session with them to sort out this matter.
Please bear with me as I put my thoughts down as they come. The work I am doing now needs me to acquire and open to image views of an object imported into two LO writer documents or into two pages of one LO writer document. Then I analyze both images in real time using basic programming. I would have to do mouse clicks on the images as part to the processing. Tabs would be just perfect for the work. So, this thread got me reviewing the history of Lotus symphony one of the comments mentioned. Then, I realized my Google Docs example above was apparently predated by IBM with their IBM Connections Docs. I guess IBM saw the better future of online document processing and dumped Lotus Symphony on Apache Software Foundation. (Will they also release the source code of IBM Connections Docs to ASF?) And, truly, to be able to work on one's documents on the go and on any device with some browser, as with Google, beats installing office suite limited to particular devices. One can even work offline on one's documents, and get back online when one wants. I believe this new system really tolls the knell over standalone device office applications. OO/LO now has much catching up to do. But it could do it with a proactive difference. Also build in macro programming in the online documents. And it is back in business. Now, if tabbed document windows could appear impossible to OO/LO, then what hope is there to catch up with what is in effect online tabbed document windows!? Yet, OO/LO must achieve this or be left behind. And added to this, I am asking the group to set the target to launch online tabbed document windows with a macro programming feature as for today's standalone desktop office applications. Can there not be some fruitful synergy in this direction teaming up with Mozilla? OO/LO needs their browser while they need the office suite. Both need each other to survive! I think so, but stand to be corrected or enlightened. Thanks.