From the Sidebar, I want to be be able to open either an existing file or a new file without opening a new pane. In my opinion panes are an unnecessary and unusable feature on a smartphone, as the screen is too narrow (see attached screenshot).
Opening an existing file or a new file from the Sidebar gives me inconsistent results:
sometimes it is opened in the existing pane (desired result);
sometimes it opens in a new pane (undesired result, see screenshot).
Why is this behavior inconsistent? How do I set the desired behavior as the default?
I am running v1.4.16 on iOS 17.0.3 (iPhone 13 Pro)
I have tried searching documentation and these forums, but I have noticed users use the words “tabs” and “panes” interchangeably making it difficult to navigate. Please excuse me if this issue/question is brought up in the wrong place.
Yeah, “panes” are now referred to as “tab groups” (on desktop anyway). It’s confusing reading old and new posts or searching for things.
What you see is definitely not normal behavior for Obsidian on a phone sized device.
Can you try making a new test vault and see if you see the same behavior there?
I’m wondering if it’s a plugin (or something) trying to mimic tablet / desktop behavior on the phone.
If it looks alright in a test vault, I’d try the troubleshooting steps with a focus on Restricted mode (no plugins) and restarting between changes you make.
There are also ways to reset the workspace layout to default if the other troubleshooting steps don’t work.
I haven’t been able to completely deduce which plugin or setting is the culprit. Nevertheless, I have found a workaround I am happy with for now: Restarting the app. Afterwards, it almost always results in files opening in the existing pane.
