Opening multiple vaults creates multiple taskbar icons. Is this intended? [Windows 11]

Bug reports
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1

I’m not sure if this is intended behavior, but it makes it harder for me to keep track of notes in different vaults.

In summary, if you pin the Obsidian icon to your taskbar by right clicking on the Start menu icon, opening any other vaults will create a second instance of the app icon in the taskbar, where all future opened vaults will be grouped. Oddly, if you pin the second icon instance and open Obsidian from that taskbar icon, Obsidian will always open windows grouped under that icon, but opening Obsidian from Start will still make a second taskbar icon. I’ll provide some screenshots and videos for reference.

Steps to reproduce

  1. After installing Obsidian on Windows 11, right click on the Start menu icon to pin to taskbar
  2. Open Obsidian (either from Start or the taskbar)
  3. Open another vault, see second icon appear
  4. Open another vault to see the windows group in the second icon

Expected result

All Obsidian windows would be grouped in the same taskbar icon.

Actual result

Any other vaults opened after the first vault will be grouped under a second taskbar icon.

Environment

  • Operating system: Windows 11, 22H2
  • Debug info: SYSTEM INFO:
    Obsidian version: v1.1.15
    Installer version: v1.1.9
    Operating system: Windows 10 Home 10.0.22621
    Login status: not logged in
    Insider build toggle: off
    Live preview: on
    Legacy editor: off
    Base theme: adapt to system
    Community theme: none
    Snippets enabled: 0
    Restricted mode: off
    Plugins installed: 6
    Plugins enabled: 3
    1: Link Embed v2.0.3
    2: Typing speed v1.1.1
    3: File path to URI v1.4.1

Additional information

In case a visual would help, here’s a GIF showing the odd behavior in action after following the steps to reproduce.

Obsidian Taksbar Icons

2 Likes
2

This is most likely a window’s bug in the way the match running apps.

1 Like
3

@ChickenScratch Finally solved this on win10.

  1. Go to C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Local\Obsidian or where obsidian is installed.
  2. Open obsidian.exe. It will open one window - say “vault A”. Don’t pin this window.
  3. Click on “Open another vault” and open different vault - say “vault B”. It wil open a new window with additional icon in taskbar.
  4. Pin the newly opened taskbar item. That’s it
  5. Close all obsidian vaults / windows and see it works
6 Likes
4

Been looking for a solution to this for a while now, it worked on windows 11 as well
Thanks a lot, you solved a big thing here!

1 Like
5

Thank you very much! This has been a little energy-taker for me. Every I want to navigate to one of my open vaults, I had to check in which obsidian icon it is grouped. Now that part is removed, and it saves quite some cognitive energy every day.

(Worked for me on Windows 11)

6

I’m not sure if this is possible, but it would be nice if this could be a setting in obsidian, since I’d actually prefer having separate taskbar icons for each vault instead of grouping them like windows. Adding the ability for individual vaults to have different icons would work well with this

1 Like
7
  • 1 for that feature. I use one vault for my life and one for my novel. I hope they implement this.