Tabs- Isn't there more we can do with them?
BeOS's most eyecatching aspect (for me) are the tabbed windows. However imho the tabs are a bit lifeless, whilst they are so full of potential. For example:
Making the tabs movable along the entire edge of the window:
Sticky tabs:
Fuse the tabs:
Possible benefits:
sticky tabs could make it very easy to move a group of windows; like tabbed browsing, but with applications. It could look like:
or:
Fusing the tabs could make multiple windows behave as a single window. For example clicking a single window would move all windows connected to the fused tab on top.
[EDIT: making the tabs movable changed into making them movable along the entire window edge]
Comments
Tabs- Isn't there more we can do with them?
Tabs have always been movable, except they were broken in Dano and yT have yet to fix them. Hold down shift, touch the tab and slide it - in R5 or older.
Tabs- Isn't there more we can do with them?
It might be useful to eventually have new windows of the same application open with the same location and dimensions of the existing window, but automatically move the tab over.
I don't use the sliding tab feature very often, but I love having that option available to me. Rather, I would if I was able to run BeOS on my new system. :~(
Tabs- Isn't there more we can do with them?
When I'm for instance work with BeIDE, I often tend to try placing the BeIDE windows on top of eachother (pixel by pixel), and then slide the tabs accordingly. This often make me use more time on arranging the windows correctly than actually coding (call me crazy ;)), so something like what h_ank suggested seems to be a nice feature. Don't know if it *is* in real life though.
Of course, it would be possible to enable/disable it!
Definitely real world
That sounds like something possible, as there are a couple window managers for XWindow that can do just that.
Check out : http://www.fluxbox.org, and the ancestor :
http://iki.fi/tuomov/pwm/
Tabs- Isn't there more we can do with them?
you could have windows that open in the same window under a diffrent tab.
that is like in windows. they might sound non-beosian but you save a lot of space.
you would have something like this
[TAB1][tab2]
+-------------
| the window for tab1
when you clic tab2 the window gets replaced with the one for the second tab.
[tab1][TAB2]
+-------------
| the window for tab2
you might use this feature when you have several windows that you don't need to use all the time. for example options could go in a separate tab in the same window. and when you close the window for tab2 the tab dissapears leaving just tab1.
you could have this feature optional in prefrences where all children appear as secondary tabs. or you could click a button and make children appear as secondary tabs, so that you save space, when needed.
the tracker windows could do this. they all come together under one window with many tabs.
you drag any of the tabs, you drag the whole window. but you close any of the tabs, the others are left.
i don't know, you decide.
Tabs- Isn't there more we can do with them?
What makes this different from that bar which tells you what applications you have open?
Very intresting concept, but windows should group as well in system under. You should also be able to save those groupings since they feels so time-expensive to create. The idea may be useful thought, you could do a kind of work-cranes from applications by joining them together. Then switch between those in no time.
You could group your numerous chat windows! :P