Is there a way to turn off file tabs?

[october sun]

Hello,

I recently upgraded from PDF Xchange Viewer (a 2013 version) to PDF Xchange Editor Pro.

For the type of editing that I do, it is best to have my documents as individual windows in PDFXchange. Tabs are very difficult to use and having fully separate windows does not work very well because some file windows get lost behind other apps I have open. In the old version I was using, there was a way to turn off the file tabs and have all my files windowed in one instance of PDFXchange.

QUESTION: Is there a way to turn off file tabs and have open files show up as windows in ONE instance of PDFXchange?

- Jeremy

[Willy Van Nuffel]

I am afraid that this particular possibility does not (actually) exist in PDF-XChange Editor V6.320.1.

The only way to have one single window for one single document is to:
1) turn ON "Single document mode", via the Edit-menu > Preferences > Documents > Setup...,
or
2) turn ON "Hide tab bar when only (one) single document is opened"

The inconvenience with option 1 is that the previously opened document is automatically closed when you open an other one.
The inconvenience with option 2 is that the tab bar shows up from the moment that you open an additional document.

Best regards.

[Timur Born]

It's possible to have windows without tabs, but not in a single instance (each window has no connection to the others):

Preferences -> Documents -> Setup:

- Open each document in a new window
- Hide Tab Bar when only a single document is opened

From now on each document will open in its own window without tabs, but the "Window" menu of each window will only affect the single instance, not the others. In current version of Windows you can use WIN+TAB to browse open windows graphically, which helps against getting lost. Using the Task-Bar's grouping feature also helps, because it allows to mouse-over a taskbar icon to get a preview of all opened windows of a single program. Last but not least, Windows still allows to rearrange windows side-by-side via Task-Bar right-click menu (no overlapping with opened programs).

There also is third-party software (one comes with my Dell screen) that allows to set up areas on the desktop to easily move windows/programs into and have the sized automatically to fit the predefined areas for easy manual arrangement.

[Timur Born]

One way to have several documents open in a single window without tabs is to use tab groups (vertical and horizontal). With more than two documents it's only useful on large high resolution screens, though.

Use menu Window -> Active document to new horizontal/vertical tab group. Combine this with the earlier mentioned option to only show tabs when more than one document is open. Then Editor will hide the tabs of each single tab group when only a single window belongs to the specific group.

You can move the dividers between the documents freely (changing sizes of the view areas), but you cannot move the documents themselves freely. Last, but not least, every tab group can have several tabs (or not) and you can change the View -> Show option (like rulers), zoom levels and other options (like page layout) of each document separately. Unfortunately when you open the left-hand pane (like Thumbnails) it opens for all documents at once.

This is what it looks like with 3 windows on a 30" (2560x1600) screen (downsampled to 1280px for the forum):

[Patrick-Tracker Supp]

Hello Timur,

Thanks for your input here! Verry good.

Unfortunately when you open the left-hand pane (like Thumbnails) it opens for all documents at once.

You should only see this if "Synchronise layout of document panes across all opened documents" is turned on.

october sun - I am afraid I have little to add because Timur already said it all!

[Timur Born]

Ah, yes. I switched off the synchronize option and now the pane can be switched individually for each document.

[Timur Born]

Just to mention it, the Page Layout option of "Show gaps between pages" cannot be switched individually, it affects all open documents. All other Page Layout options seem to switch individually (including Ribbon layout).

[october sun]

Timur - Thank you! That works perfectly

[Timur Born]

One drawback of the current implementation is that you can only split one vertical group into several horizontal ones. In my example there are two documents on the left side and one on the right. It is not possible to divide the right side horizontally the same way the left side is divided.

If Editor offered real a multiple documents interface within one instance we would be able to cascade and overlap windows and even move them freely, enabling us to make more customized use of the space (like 2 x 2 view) without having to go the multi-instance route. It's not something I personally would need very often (if at all), though.

[David.P]

Timur, Is there something a Multiple Document Interface can do that is not possible with the current interface of PDF-XChange Editor, i.e. with the option to arrange any number of completely independent document windows that however run in one program instance?

[Timur Born]

Mostly manual placement of sub-windows and the ability to minimize/maximize it all within a single click (since it is a single application window).

[Timur Born]

The current design in Editor doesn't allow something like a 2 x 2 or 3 x 2 placement of tab groups. With the (somewhat convoluted) creation of horizontal + vertical groups in the right order you can get more sophisticated layouts, but it's not easy to manage and the layout necessarily goes from smaller dividers to larger ones (upper left to lower right).



That being said, personally I am fine with the current implementation. It allows for enough options to organize PDF viewing on screen. One benefit is that you can arrange groups without the need for frames around sub-windows, which saves space.

[David.P]

I see! Awesome layout that pushes PDF-XChange Editor to its (nonexistent) limits

[Timur Born]

Each document in these tab groups can be split (horizontally/vertically) via the Split option (not tab group option) individually, which might be useful for some.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Timur,

Just to make sure that I understand - the key feature you're looking for is to be able to split vertical groups into subsequent vertical groups, is that correct?

Cheers,

[Timur Born]

Hi Timur,

Just to make sure that I understand - the key feature you're looking for is to be able to split vertical groups into subsequent vertical groups, is that correct?

Cheers,

Hi Will,

vertical groups can be split into subsequent vertical groups already, these would be placed on the right hand side of the screen. In my last example image the large vertical group on the right (single document going from top to bottom) would be split into two (or more) groups going from top to bottom.

What is not possible is to split that large group/window on the right into subsequent horizontal groups without repositioning everything. It's possible to use the "Split" function on that group, though, which only displays the same document in both splits, though.

All that being said, I was rather listing/demonstrating the current possibilities and restrictions here for others. Last thing I wrote was: "personally I am fine with the current implementation", because I usually don't open too many documents at a time unless I need to compare them. Once Editor learns more sophisticated search results that might change (still using OS X for that).

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Thanks for clarifying Timur - I'll pass that along, but I'm glad that the current implementation is working for you for now

[Timur Born]

Some preset arrangements like 2x2, 3x2, 2x3 and 3x3 ... would be nice, though.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

I'll pass the suggestion along