Tab Groups: Include active file display side (left or right)

I wish for an option to: Store the active (source) tab when saving and recalling Tab Groups.

I believe there are numerous benefits, but my personal need for this option is related to power usage, where I've created an F5 hotkey that intelligently opens my most recent work file (first and last line utilizes AHK) :

F5 outside DOpus Activate DOpus (except for selected apps).
F5 inside DOpus Focus/select the most recent file in active (source) tab.
F5 again (within 400ms) Open the file.

To this schema, between first and second line, I'd like to add the following:

Open Tab Group "NOW" with the active tab set to my chosen tab (my feature request)

Currently, it's a random affair which tab is the active one and thus I can't get my solution working.

If I'm able to do that, this would mean an INSANELY ASAP method to reach my ongoing workfiles. I never have to think, or search, or scroll, or click when I want to continue where I left off …!!! Simply press F5 two–three times wherever I am in the system and I'm off to the races. Truth be told, I can't even describe how useful this is.

Here's what I'm suggesting:

Tab_Groups_Include_Active_Source

... For sake of illustration, this is a demo of the slow, archaic method to reach your latest workfiles in folders:

tedious_scrolling_and_clicking

It shouldn't be. Tab groups should remember what the active tab was when they were saved.

There's only one tab (on the right) in the tab group in your example so maybe I've misunderstood.

Are you trying to avoid closing the active tab when you open a tab group containing other tabs?

In short: For me, the active tab is not saved in Tab Groups.

The green side in my gif is the one that I want to be active when opening the saved Tab Group. If I switch Tab Groups and change to the left side as active, then re-opening the "NOW" Tab Group (gif), it won't open with the green side active.

I have a button for overwriting current Tab Group:

// Overwrite active tab group with current tabs.
@confirm:Overwrite active tab group with current tabs?|Do it|Yikes no
Go TABGROUPSAVE="!current,!quiet"

At least that button won't make active tab stick.

If you don't want existing tabs to be closed when loading the tab group, you can turn off the option for that inside the tab group, either in Preferences or when saving the tab group.

You can also override the option via a command argument if you prefer.

I do want my previous tabs to close. And I want whatever the active tab was (when saving the tab group) to be the active one when ropening the tab group, which is not the case for me :

Tab_Groups_active_tab_wont_stick

The selected tab on each side will be remembered. It won't switch which side is source/dest; that stays as it is.

You could add a second command to the button, after the one which loads the tab group, to explicitly make the left or right side source, if that's what you need.

I see. Yeah, that could be something of a solution. But I'd still like to request saving also the active side (aka the SOURCE dir) if possible. But yes, that works. Only drawback is that I then have to restrict my "work directory" to be on same side for all cases, so to speak. Thanks for your help, Leo.

You could have a different button and side for different groups.

Sorry for coming back to this issue. But I can't get it to work at all... the issue is that even though I can define sides for tab groups, I can't decide which side is activated when opening them. (That is my specific feature request.)

Say I have a tab group called "NOW" containing just a single folder location like so:

Snag_30f616af

There's no way to automatically be in and navigate that folder with keys. And such things are important for speedy operation, which I believe is the exact idea with DOpus. Or at least I can't figure that out. I'm really sorry if I'm missing something you've already said, Leo. :slight_smile:

Reason why I want to use Tab Groups for designating work folders, is because of the simplicity of having a button that assign all current tabs into a new group, or overwrites an existing one:

Snag_30f99c0d

Maybe this is a niche request and if that's the case, I'll drop my request. But the question is whether it's a useful addition for more than myself, having something like an "Active Tab/Side" checkbox next to folders in the Edit tab Group dialog. Apologies for being a pest :wink: Don't mean to.

EDIT: Well, if "Define tabs on specific sides of a dual-display Lister" is unchecked, it works. But that entails a usability annoyance in that the tabs would end up on random sides, depending on which side I am when opening the tab group. I prefer to keep my work on a specific side and common tabs on the other. Another, even greater usability flaw is that I can't even separate my work and common tabs (see below). That's my argument in favor of this feature request. I've amended the title to better reflect what I mean.

Snag_310d582d

vs

Snag_310d7b06