We all know that tabbed browsing is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I use Adium and Gaim primarily because of their tabbed chat window features. I even went so far as to mock-up what a tabbed BBEdit interface could look like before they introduced the feature in BBEdit 8.0. Scott discovered iTerm last week and I’ve happily made the switch from Terminal.
Why are tabbed applications all the rage? I think it is because we are doing much more than we ever have with our computers, and that using tabs within a single application window keeps the number of open windows we have from becoming unmanageable - it helps us keep everything organized.
What’s next? I’ve been thinking that I would certainly use a tabbed Finder window (hello Path Finder, jump on this idea - ok?) and a tabbed FTP client (Transmit? Captain FTP? Beuller?). I’ve read that people are pushing for a tabbed interface in Thunderbird (view different folders and/or messages in different tabs) which could be interesting.
What applications do you wish had tabbed interfaces? Why do you think tabs have become so popular? And perhaps, where do tabs not belong?
UPDATE: Here is a mock-up of what a tabbed Path Finder window could look like…
Popularity: 7% [?]
Scott Morrison adds this Comment:
Interarchy’s latest version (7.2.1 I think) has tabbed s/ftp. It is incredibly useful — I won’t consider other ftp clients now.
December 16th, 2004 at 4:59 pm
Alex adds this Comment:
Wow, Interarchy is much improved since I last looked at it!
December 16th, 2004 at 5:14 pm
Scott Sanders adds this Comment:
Why not go whole hog and tab the entire user interface?
New tab per ‘project’, then add a terminal sub tab, editor sub tab, browser subtab, email sub tab, etc.
That or just get 2 30″ cinema displays
December 16th, 2004 at 5:45 pm
Alex adds this Comment:
Yeah, we could have a set of top level tabs, then on each tab have secondary tabs, then on the secondary tabs have application screen specific tabs - that would be a-w-e-s-o-m-e!
I’m thinkin’ one 30″ plus the 17″ from the PowerBook would be enough.
December 16th, 2004 at 5:49 pm
Mike Hostetler adds this Comment:
In one sense, a fully tabbed user interface has already been invented, it’s called “Virtual Desktops” or “Workspaces”. This is a very common feature on linux, and I am positive that clients exist for OSX and Windows. I personally use Virtual Dimension on Windows. You can set up hotkeys for each workspace (I usually use about 4 at a time), that enable you to quickly switch between them.
I honestly don’t know if I could say that having virtual desktops has improved the amount of work I do, but it has fixed that nagging attribute of always having to keep a clean desktop/task bar.
Virtual Dimension
http://virt-dimensio[...]ceforge.net/
December 17th, 2004 at 6:59 am
Alex adds this Comment:
There are a number of these for OS X. I’ve used Space and CodeTek VirtualDesktop - CodeTek was a lot better.
December 17th, 2004 at 9:22 am
Val Kilmer adds this Comment:
We need a tabbed ssh client. OMG that would make my life as a network break fix guy a million times easier!
December 18th, 2004 at 4:31 pm
Alex adds this Comment:
Doesn’t the tabbed terminal (iTerm) suffice?
December 18th, 2004 at 4:50 pm
Isak Johnsson adds this Comment:
The Ion window manager is quite interresting. It is keyboard driven and uses only tabs and tiling, no regular windows at all.
http://iki.fi/tuomov/ion/
I used it some years ago under Linux, and it worked quite well then. It would be nice to try it again.
January 5th, 2005 at 2:37 am
dotnot adds this Trackback:
Tabbed email
Just using Thunderbird with 3 separate accounts, each with about 30 folders, and it occurred to me that Thunderbird should have tabbed email. This would allow me to focus completely on the one account I am using at the moment. The tab could show the …
January 21st, 2005 at 4:23 pm
oneyejack adds this Comment:
Check out the tabbed interface of Captain FTP. Very user friendly, and looks great, which is a bonus!
April 22nd, 2005 at 6:56 am
oneyejack adds this Comment:
forgot the link
April 22nd, 2005 at 6:57 am
(a different) Alex adds this Comment:
Well, ask and ye shall receive ;). It looks like Path Finder 4 will include a tabbed interface.
June 4th, 2005 at 1:17 pm
Armswiper's Blog adds this Trackback:
SSH Clients and Tabbed Windows
I was thinking the other day about “tabbed” programs - like Firefox, etc. - and how they make my life sooooo much easier.As an example, I need to look at at least 4 web pages to do my work - if I were to use Internet Explorer, that 4 more windows I n…
June 12th, 2005 at 11:42 am
Smitty McSmith adds this Comment:
Though this would be ghetto rigged, wouldn’t it be possible to create an empty program that allowed you to link other programs to and would tab all programs linked to it? It wouldn’t be nearly as nice as if it was inherently built into the program itself, but would provide the functionality that you’re looking for.
July 26th, 2005 at 6:56 am
tim adds this Comment:
i’m working on a project at the moment that does exactly what Smitty McSmith is talking about, that is provide a empty container and add tab functionality to any program you want. This doesn’t change the program, but does add tab functionality to putty or anyt other program you desire.
August 17th, 2005 at 2:49 am
tim adds this Comment:
Check out http://www.wintabber.com. This program can tab almost any window, including ssh terminals like putty.
February 28th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Vyoma adds this Comment:
Yes, indeed. Tabbed applications really make life easier. But I do not see the point in having softwares like wintabber because is it not what the OS is doing? I mean, imagine if you have all the application running within this container - might they as well not run outside it?
January 5th, 2007 at 4:27 am
Brian Pence adds this Comment:
If you’re looking for a good tabbed terminal client, look no further. Try AbsoluteTelnet! Not only does it support telnet as the MS client does, but it also supports SSH, which is a better security choice. It has a tabbed interface, advanced security, and is translated into seven languages!
January 4th, 2008 at 12:49 pm