I would like to be able to open one Saved Window across multiple windows (I will use capital "Saved Window" and lowercase "window" to refer to the Orion browser feature and the multiple browser windows), and have them sync tabs between them.
As is, Orion's Saved Windows function very similar to the Arc Browser's Spaces. This would bring them closer to parity. This would essentially have all the same use cases as split screen, but would better support multi-monitor setups, or other more niche cases. Specific examples of how I have used this in Arc are:
- Following links from a video, or researching on the video's topic, while still watching the video in fullscreen on a secondary monitor. (I would prefer to group these together such as in one "[insert hobby here]" Saved Window, rather than separate "YouTube" and "Research" Saved Windows.)
- In the Roll20 VTT, opening a character sheet in a separate tab, displaying that fullscreen on a secondary monitor, and the primary VTT interface on a primary monitor.
- Copying data from a spreadsheet into a text field, or vice versa
- Comparing and contrasting two tabs with variations on the same thing (such as builds for a videogame)
Safari also has Tab Groups which once opened across multiple windows function very similarly, syncing between them in real-time just as Arc's Spaces. However, they lack some basic usability features to function as an effective tab sidebar; Orion has those covered.
Currently, it is possible to get this "functionality" as a bug, with the following steps to reproduce:
- Open a Saved Window other than the one you want to open multiple instances of.
- Switch to the Saved Window you want to open multiple instances of. (There must be no windows currently open to the Saved Window for this to work).
- After switching, right click on the Saved Window and select "Open in Separate Window."
The behavior within this bugged state is pretty much identical to having two Arc browser windows open to the same Space, and I have found it to work pretty much exactly how I would want it to. The only issues I have personally found are some oddities when the same tab is open on both windows, none of which were major (or dissimilar to those found in Arc under the same circumstance, lol).
I think this would likely be best paired with a renaming of Saved Windows to distinguish them from browser windows and keep them clearly distinguished from profiles, though that's obviously not critical to the feature.
At present, when you click on an already open Saved Window, Orion puts in focus the opened instance of that Saved Window. I think that instead, it should open that Saved Window in the current window. It might also be nice to have a count of instances of that window and/or a button or modifier key to allow switching focus to an existing instance of that window instead of opening it, in the case that someone goes to open a Saved Window without realizing they already had one open. Maybe next to or incorporated into the ellipsis menu on each Saved Window?
