Steve Miles wrote:
Exactly. Having to continually go backward and forward through the recent files, or having to remember you already have a file open in another tab, or (on the not so uncommon chance that you do this by mistake when you double-click a file/link) trying to keep track of separate windows when the monolithic project window (which is only usable if it's large) and bringing it forward hides the other windows, etc, is a big ol' pain in the ass. I can't work that way. It's worst than Visual Studio.
This is especially maddening when you're the new guy at a company whose hundreds of files are scattered all willy nilly and you need to keep a couple dozen open at all times just so you can refer to them. It's NOT a good way to get stuff done. Period. Using a separate *small* project window and separate source windows IS the way to get stuff done (like Xcode 3's Condensed layout). Bring it back, Apple.
There's an actual simple fix to this that I've put up in Radar. I like the multiple window interface, but I also work with Visual Studio and NetBeans so I can work just as well in the tabbed interface. The big problem is the tabs are NOT consistent.
If you have a tab open, and click the file in the navigator, it will open over that tab; if you double-click, it will open in another tab EVEN if the original already exists.
The solution is to just do it the same way NetBeans, Eclipse, and Visual Studio do it. A double click to open a file. If the tab exist, bring that tab to the front. If it doesn't, create a new one. Or give us that option in preferences. The tabs containing the navigation pane (and changing it when they are changed, also in radar) and the weird way it creates tabs are so completely different from other environments that it's quite bizarre the behavior ever got in there :)
The big thing is development environments are not apps that are used by the general population; they are very old apps, they've been around for decades, and they all work in a similar way for a reason. Sometimes re-inventing the wheel is a great thing, sometimes it isn't.
[>] Brian |