A thought here, you can open the same vault on multiple computers and you can open multiple vaults on the same computer. Why not allow the same vault to be open multiple times on the same computer?

I am sure there are some issues, but this would not be an Electron limitation as the work around suggested is basically opening parts of your main vault as a different vault.

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I too have an assortment of monitors of wildly varying sizes and resolutions. These screens are an essential part of my workflow, and being unable to utilize them as I do with every other program I use is a crippling downside to Obsidian.

Multi-window support would radically enhance the utility of this program. Are there any devs here that can speak to the likelihood/timeline to when this functionality might be added?

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Just adding my vote for this – having multiple Obsidian windows (one for each monitor) would significantly improve my experience!

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I want the same thing you. Open the same vault on multiple windows

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Yes and if I may add, pop-out a single note (without all the sidebar stuff).

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Similar to others, I have the following setup:

  • Multiple virtual desktops to maintain state per topic e.g desktop 1: ‘sprint planning’, desktop 2: ‘2022 strategy meeting’
  • One minimalist note taking app per virtual desktop (It’s Onenote, but I want to move to Obsidian)

So I need multi instance to be able to have a note taking app per virtual desktop.
Also, I’d ideally like to be able to load a minimal Obsidian window (e.g. no sidebars), with a shortcut key. This is because I want to capture a thought as soon as I think of it, and without distraction.

Thanks!

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VSCode now supports this btw

ctrl + shft + p → Workspaces: duplicate as workspace in a new window

As a developer I’m sure this would be annoying to program but it is possible :slight_smile:

Another vote for multi-window. That would be great!

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Any updates? +1

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Without this feature I cannot migrate from Evernote.

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+1 for this feature. This is one of the big things that causes me to hesitate moving everything over to Obsidian.

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Issue closed as not fixed on Electron’s repository, buuuut, possible for someone to look into this route mentiond on the Electron issue? Multipe instances of an Electron app have problems with localStorage · Issue #2493 · electron/electron · GitHub

I’m assuming Obsidian can detect keyboard/mouse (focus on window) and decide which window to obtain the file “lock” (for writing).

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Adding one more vote for this! Seems like there were a few feature requests in 2020 for a similar function, Now it’s all tracked in this thread?

I’m not even using multiple monitors, just one big one. It’s easier for my brain to be able to visually separate ideas and move them around on the screen.

My work-around is using a seperate markdown editor (Typora, Mark Text) to open individual files for viewing or editing outside of my vault window. The downside is losing some of the functionality of Obsidian, like hotkeys and plugins, meaning I sometimes have to jump into the same note from Mark Text to Obsidian if I’m doing more than just writing text.

Edit to add: I have considered making a vault from a subfolder to have two Obsidian instances open, but it would be nice to avoid that.

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+1 for Multi-Window on desktop

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+1, it would incredible for multi-monitor setups

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ln -s /mnt/external_drive/stock_photos ~/stock_photos

may be similar methods like symbolic-link-linux can work as a solution

nothingislost / obsidian-hover-editor
is it,

It would be helpful to be able to open multiple windows– Multi-pane views can be fairly involved, and when it’s time to put one project down because you need to work on something else for a few minutes, it can be somewhat of a dilemma between either dismantling the multi-pane setup you’ve made or saving it as a workspace. Obviously workspaces are perfect in cases where you will re-use one multiple times, but if it’s just a one-off this doesn’t seem like a natural solution. I imagine multiple windows would also be helpful for multi-monitor setups.

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Have you seen the nothingislost/obsidian-hover-editor beta plugin? That might be a viable solution for you.

Unfortunately this is not possible without heavy work from the devs, see the FR for that:

The suggested workaround is nested vaults(but that is not officially supported)