[Feature] Multiple instances of the app on iPadOS

Platform

[x ] iOS
[ ] Android


Hi there,

I love the mobile app — thanks for an incredible job in bringing the full feature set to i(Pad)OS. It would be amazing if we could open several instances of the app, as has become possible with most apps on iPadOS. Especially with a look toward iPadOS 15, which offers massive improvements for handling multiple app windows.

This would allow things such as having a note open in Split view with Safari, another full-screen instance with other project-related files in panes, perhaps another instance with a project home page or outline, etc.

I’m not sure if this is technically doable — from what I understand, on MacOS multiple Obsidian windows are impossible because of Electron restrictions (although I’m far from knowledgeable in this area). Does the same apply on iOS or can Obsidian implement all of the operating system’s multitasking features?

In any case, thank you for considering my request!

12 Likes

I’ll second this feature request. For what it’s worth, there’s a now-closed request for this very feature, ostensibly implemented in 0.0.18. Yet I’m on Obsidian Mobile 1.0.4, I can’t find any way to create a second app window. As far as I can tell, there’s no Obsidian command that does this, nor do the usual iPadOS UI affordances work (e.g. tapping the application icon while it’s already open). Recommendation: once this is implemented, it should be added to Obsidian Help.

An example use case: I have one window in Split View with a book open on the left side and an Obsidian “inbox note” on the right. I’d like to be able to open a new fullscreen window of Obsidian on another note in the same vault, so I can work on other items without disturbing my in-progress session with that book.

7 Likes

+1, would love to be able to open two instances on iPad

2 Likes

+1 from me, as well. I often use Obsidian in Split View with other apps while I’m transferring notes to my PKM. Sometimes I want to look something up in the PKM (or in another vault) while I’m doing that. Being able to create a second Obsidian instance would allow me to do so without having to disrupt my workflow.

2 Likes

+1 from me. I often work with two vaults: one for my research with a zettelkasten approach and another for my active projects using a different file structure. Today I am using Obsidian for one vault and iaWriter for the second, so that I can easily switch between them, but it hat its limites. Two instances of Obsidian would be great!

1 Like

+1 here as well.

+1 i too think this feature would be useful for navigation and multitasking with different linked notes.

+1 here, it would be a game changer for me.

+1. Please , it would be great in terms of productivity !!! Is this planned ?

+1. This would be great. Even just opening a pdf in new window will be useful (like desktop app) to fully make use of stage manager.

How is this not already implemented? I went to enter Split View on iPad, noticed it wasn’t there, and thought, “oh, they didn’t bother, because you can just use the native iPadOS feature.”

But you can’t! Surely this can’t be difficult to implement.

yes please, I work often from iPadOS and not supporting all the multitasking features is really harming the usefulness of obsidian for me