+1 for this, or making it possible for plugins to do this!
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+1, I just say I would find the IDE-like behavior more intuitive and is what I expected at first (ref. Issue with multiple tabs with the same note open).
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P.S. One thing I would add, is that even with the IDE-like behavior, I would still like the possibility of opening the same note in more than one tab/window. But to force this we could have some explicit trigger, like a Right-Click + Open in new Window or Tab menu option.
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OK, letâs say I have two documents, a planning doc and an ideas doc.
While planning I want to refer to the ideas doc, when I click it, it starts at the top of the document which is super annoying, because now I manually have to scroll to where I was last, OR, I have to manually find the tab where I last edited the ideas doc. This is not a minor use case, it happen multiple times each day.
Sure, browser navigation could be nice as an option if I want to test-browse through a markdown based web site for example, but as the default browsing mode itâs just a terrible idea imo.
It seems to me the current behaviour only works for people who only use short notes, or people who like to manually manage tabs and always remember which documents they have opened or am I missing something here?
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For IDE-proponents as myself, it might actually help if you would preserve the cursor and scroll positions for all documents (important: this would have to be done also for closed documents!) Personally, I donât think I care much about the tabs or IDE-style browsing per se, but it is the tab state that is important.
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I tried the no-dupe-leaves, and Quick Switcher++ mentioned here, but none seem to work (Obsidian v1.1.16)
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Tried âNo Dupe Leavesâ but it only works on links. If I click something in the file browser it doesnât switch to the existing tab. Still, itâs a step closer to the light, thanks for creating that plugin.
Making it work for all ways a note can be opened and always switch to the existing instance would be wonderful.
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Just to add the experience of a random user who has thought about this way less than all of you: I keep ending up with many duplicate tabs of all my files open, and I donât even know where they are coming from / which action Iâm doing that is triggering that. The whole thing is definitely very unintuitive for me. (And yes, it is also not ideal that tabs get squeezed to the point where you can only see the âxâ.)
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Navigate around pretty aggressively after creating new documents and will quickly end up with tons of useless tabs so I just end up closing them all and starting over. I have to spend time focused on tab management if I want tabs to be useful at all.
Firefox will direct me to a tab if I try to reopen it from the address bar or bookmark and I really appreciate that.
I donât know if this will solve all of my Obsidian tabbing woes but I think it will help!
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+1 for this!
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When I click a link in a pinned note (without holding Ctrl to open it in a new tab), while the pin note doesnât change, the note gets loaded into the rightmost tab open, changing it to what I clicked. A browser would open the link in its own new tab entirely, rather than have this behavior which costs me a few more seconds to fix. Could this be changed so clicking links on pinned notes always defaults to opening in its own tab?
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Agreed, this trips me up often.
This actually might be a good feature request on its own if one doesnât already exist.
Let me share my perspective on how Vim models this whole business of views on content.
In Vim/Neovim, a tab is basically an organization space for splits (a.k.a windows, panes, etc. And splits are views into a buffer. Tabs in Vim are much more like Obsidian workspaces. Tabs offer mutually exclusive frames filled with one or more splits/views onto data. You do not get to see tabs side-by-side. If you want to see things side-by-side, you use splits (within a tab).
Iâve been using Vim for so long now that itâs become integrated into both my âmuscle memoryâ as well as âgaze memoryâ (i.e., where I look to focus my attention after carrying out an action). I can use Obsidian workspaces as Vim tabs and Obsidian tabs as Vim splits. But I always get thrown off when Obsidian opens a new tab within what I woulld call a âsplitâ and changes focus to it, essentially just replacing one panel in my view rather than giving me a clean single-panel âfresh startâ view onto whatever I opened. What my âgaze memoryâ really expects to happen when my mind thinks ânew tabâ is essentially an Obsidian ânew workspaceâ 
I registered on this forum just to request this feature⌠So: +1 please please ! 
3 Likes
hahaha, me too 
+100
+1, please
Using the browser analogy to justify the current workflow doesnât stand up. Browser tabs represent a response to a request at a specific point in time. A browser tab doesnât automatically âstay in syncâ to reflect changes on the web server. So there is a compelling use case for multiple open tabs for the same URL.
What Obsidian has is an excellent start to a tab-based workflow for information management â the next evolutionary step after the original pane-based workflow. But given that these days, Obsidian tabs are primarily live views of user-editable content (as opposed to the memorialization of a historical, static web request/response), a true, 100% complete implementation does necessitate this feature/option, as well as native support for tab switching in MRU (most recently used) order.
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I definitely agree! Hereâs a relevant request: Click on an internal link in a pinned note should open a brand new tab
Thanks!
Iâm back on Obsidian after an absence, and love the tabs. However, I agree that simulating a browser makes little sense. I use the daily note all day, and itâs annoying that it opens a new instance in the current tab when I click the âGo to daily noteâ button rather than going to the already open tab.
A tangentially related idea, is to have an easy way to close all duplicate tabs, see Better way to navigate with many open tabs, or button to close duplicate tabs.
I currently use a plugin called âClose Similar Tabsâ by 1C0D to automatically close duplicate tabs.
Open a blank tab using the âCtrl + Tâ shortcut, open the quick switcher, type in the note name, and press âEnterâ:
- If the note is not open yet, it will open in the blank tab.
- Otherwise, the blank tab will close (more like it opens the note, recognize that this note is already opened, and close it immediately) and jump to the already opened one.