Click links/files to open in new tab by default

This is basically EXACTLY the same request as IDE style navigation (tab reuse on link opening, tab management, switch to already open note) - #25 by Gur92Jjm

So it seems a LOT of users want this behaviour - at least as an option

1 Like

Same, please… this makes me leave Obsidian, frustrated…

2 Likes

Put my name on the list!

was very surprised that this was not an available option, given it’s how a most notetaking and text-editing apps behave by default. Obviously there are workarounds, like always use ctrl+ or middle click, or one of the extensions), but I would really expect to see it as a native option, if it’s not just the default behavior.

704 likes from 148 users over the past 4 years! (In fairness, only 226 on the initial post). I’m pretty new to Obsidian…has new development stalled? Or are they just not great at responding to popular feature requests?

Edit: Oh yeah, and it will happily open more than 1 tab of the exact same file? Not even sure how this happens, but I end up with 4 of the same file open. I think the devs may have overlooked that this is a text editor! This is good to have, but should be a special feature one triggers when working on multiple areas of the document at once.

There’s a changelog on the website.

Must have. Low cost high value feature tbh. Just add it already! :laughing:

1 Like

I support opening links in new tabs since this is like Webbrowsers work and many people are used to that.

Also voicing my +1 that I would appreciate a toggle option in preferences to open any new file (from either link or the left sidebar) in a new tab.

I appreciate there are keyboard shortcuts as a workaround to do this now, though my preference would be to not need to use such a shortcut if I did not have to. Thanks.

2 Likes

Another +1 four years after the original post. Anyone know of a plugin or something that can do this?

3 Likes

This plug in is tiny and do its jobs perfectly
Except of we open same files, we got duplicate taps
obsidian://show-plugin?id=open-in-new-tab

What browser does that by default — is that a Chrome thing?

On the web, the general rule of opening internal links in the same tab and external links in new tabs is implemented at the level of website design, rather than at the level of the browser. The HTML link itself is either coded with the target="_blank" attribute (in which case it opens in a new tab), or not (in which case it opens in the current tab). A widely accepted UX best practice in web design is to code external links (ones that lead to a different site) so that they will open in a new tab, so that once the user is done looking at that other site they can get back to what they were doing on the original site. The fact that most websites mostly follow that best practice is where the user expectation I mentioned comes from.

It’s probably worth pointing out that it’s also a UX best practice in web design to code internal links to open in a new tab or not based on context - if it is likely that most users will want to click the link and read/do something on that page at the same time as on the current page, or read/do something on that page and then come back to where they were on the original page, the link should open in a new tab (e.x. if you’re filling out a form, and you need to check that you’ve read the user agreement, the link to the user agreement should open in a new tab so you don’t lose your place in the form by clicking it); if it is likely that for most users this is neither a parallel task nor just a quick detour they’ll want to return from shortly, the link should open in the current tab (e.x. the user is on the home page of a website, and has clicked a navigation link to go to a different page). The internal vs external heuristic is just a subset of this broader heuristic, because it’s assumed that external links often represent detours.

For me, most of my use of Obsidian follows the pattern that when I click a link, I’m usually either doing a parallel task or taking a detour, but not trying to completely leave the current note behind altogether. For example:

  • It’s very common that I’ll be writing a note, add a link to some other note, follow that link to also add something that other note, and then want to come right back to the original note. I might also want to be editing both simultaneously, deciding what info should go in which file, maybe copying and pasting different things between them as I adjust the boundary.
  • In my template for new tasks, I have a priority field, and a link to the definitions of priority levels. Right after applying the template when creating a new task note, I regularly click through that link to remind myself of the priority definitions before setting the value of the priority field.
  • When I’m starting my daily note, I’ll often open up my previous daily note to copy over some goals I didn’t accomplish yesterday that are still relevant, or refer to ones I did accomplish while writing new ones. I’m using yesterday’s note as a reference while I set up the current one, so I want it to open in a new tab so I can look back and forth between them. Yesterday’s note is right next to the current one in the Files view in the sidebar, so that’s usually how I open it, and I have to remember to hold ctrl while I click it or right click to open in a new tab, or else Obsidian will close today’s note on my when I open yesterday’s.

I think it stems from the fact that a lot of my usage of Obsidian is geared towards creating and editing a bunch of meaningfully organized and linked content. I frequently traverse links or open files in the same folder in order to make related edits in related files, or remind myself of relevant information. Often I’m doing something like moving information from the original file to the linked file, or updating both to reflect some change that affects both, in which case it’s helpful to be able to have both open at once so I can flip back and forth between them. Other times I’m taking a temporary detour - I was reading or editing one note, then followed a link to remind myself of some relevant information or make a quick edit, and then I want to return to the original note to keep reading/editing. In both of those cases opening links in a new tab is preferable, and having to remember to ctrl + click adds a little friction to my workflow. Every time I forget and my current tab is replaced, it’s a little jarring/frustrating, but it keeps happening because holding ctrl is an extra step to have to remember.

It’s much less common for me that I have some note open and I’m truly done with that topic or task and the way I want to switch to the next is by following a link - in that case I would tend to close the current note and use ctrl + O to open the next, because it’s probably sufficiently unrelated that there is no link to it.

1 Like

The long-standing web UX guideline from Norman Nielson Group has been to avoid opening links in new tabs. At least as of a few years ago, that’s still mostly true, with the exception of when “the user will need to refer to that content in order to complete a task in another window”. Opening Links in New Browser Windows and Tabs

(Your personal preference is of course valid regardless of that.)

I think it would be fair to say that web usability guides written 25 years ago are almost entirely outdated now, by virtue of:

  • Hardware improvements - display screens are way better now and have more real estate for multiple tab parking
  • Workflow - most apps are now browser-based, and browsers have evolved to handle that with tab-grouping etc.
  • UI evolution - mobile devices have created UI experiences they couldn’t have foreseen 25 years ago

But your comment “personal preference is of course valid” is correct, which makes the case for making new tab actions an option in the Appearance menu.

It’s irritating to be forced to hold Ctrl or whatever while opening a note to preserve the active note, and more so when inadvertently closing the active note.

Make no mistake, the community loves Obsidian and massively appreciates the effort you guys put into it. But the users are begging you to do this - would it be so difficult?

4 Likes

I totally agree regarding the UX guidelines for websites. If every website I visited opened every link in a new tab it would litter my browser with a ton of tabs and that would be terrible.

But I think the use case here is different. Those UX guidelines were written for websites - and even though Obsidian is built using web-based tech (HTML, CSS, JS) and is really a local “website” running on Chromium under the hood, most people don’t know or care about that.

This is more about the usability of the tool as a note taking/management application. Personally I lose track of my notes all the time because I click on a note and it replaces the active note. It feels like enough people are doing the same thing that there is a UX problem - where user expectations are not aligned with the app’s behavior (which makes it less intuitive for these users). An ability to toggle this behavior on would be a nice feature.

In the meantime the plugin “Open In New Tab” does a passable job (e.g. links in the Bookmarks listing don’t work, but regular note links in the Files listing do).

4 Likes

I cannot fathom why it wouldn’t be an option in the settings to open in a new tab by default. I mess up and “lose” notes multiple times a day. For now I’ll use the plugin, but it should be a simple setting in Obsidian itself.

5 Likes

I agree, and not just for links.

I have hotkeys to open the documents I use most (daily and monthly notes, mainly), and they replace whatever document I am working on, which then becomes hard to find.

The plugin really doesn’t work for me, as I am not clicking links.

I also tried “New Link +”, but it works less than 20% of the time.

I think we need an official option in the settings.

1 Like

Please do something. This is getting on my nerves.

1 Like

Hi everyone! I’m the author of Vertical Tabs. After some hours of experimenting, I finally get this feature work. The main reason I want to support this is because,

  1. Personally, I want to keep every note I opened, not to be replaced by some newly-opened notes.
  2. Obsidian’s default causes some issues for users of Vertical Tabs, for example, the new tab appears in some unexpected places.

My implementation should work everywhere, in principle, not only for links or the file browser, but also like when open a new note from commands or ribbon buttons. See the demo below. However, this feature might not be publicly available for a while, because it will break some functionality. As far as I know, the Word Counter won’t work. Hope there’s a better way to achieve this! Another feature to be used with “always open in new tab” is called “Tab deduplicating”, which is still being tested. Together, they should bring the IDE-like tab management to Obsidian.

demo

Is there any way I can contribute this feature as a new setting? As established, plugins are not able to implement this behavior everywhere. Willing to sign an NDA to update the source. I just want the app to behave the way I expect it to.

Some good news: I find a way to make Obsidian open in new tab by default, and everything works!!! No more broken feature! Check the demo below:

demo

P.S. you can only see a single horizontal tab because I hide all others except the active one with CSS.

Hi

THIS IS one of the most important feature for use obsidian in a normal way.
Every editor I know can do this by default.