Desktop app: Opening/editing multiple notes

Using Evernote App I can open multiple notes to compare or copy things between notes. I really miss this feature. Is there already a way to do that? What do you think about it? Can we ask for this feature in Github?

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It’s unlikely that notes side by side will be supported (maybe tabs at some point but not all opened at the same time). A possible alternative, depending on your workflow, is to open some notes in an external editors, and keep the one you want to change open in Joplin, then you can copy text more easily.

A planned feature is to allow opening multiple notes in an external editor, so maybe that would support your particular use case.

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Hi Laurent,

Thanks for your answer. Good idea to open notes in an external editor but you don’t see images or pdf saved within the note. In my particular use case, I’m used to save images like print screens or other pdf files and open several notes simultaneously to compare and analyse notes regarding same issues. You think this feature will not be added because of technical issues or because I’m the only one who think that this useful?

I thinks tabs would make for a wonderful feature, perhaps I can best argue in the form of a use case:

Throughout the week I aggregate notes in a notebook folder journal - in a discussion an important breakthrough sand castle design comes up, and structural issues wrt sand castles are spoken off.
Once a week I go through my notes a redact them towards a proper context - where I keep track of sand castle design references. Being able to have multiple allows for easy redaction, since going back and forth between notebooks is quite a bit of navigational overhead

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Tabs would be a HUGE improvement. I keep project notes, daily work journals, and technical article snippets in Joplin and constantly need to switch back and forth between them. Opening them in an external interface is possible, but cumbersome. Switching between tabs would be much faster and I could still see attached images and files. +1 for tabs.

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I’d be happy to chip in to sponsor this feature, if its necessity is agreed upon.
Is sponsoring a feature an idea that is welcomed?
There’s a potential concern of audience engagement vs hijacking priorities

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Note tabs is an essential missing functionality, in my opinion.

I am using Joplin as my knowledge center (just like Evernote previously), and therefore I often have to edit/view multiple notes simultaneously (copy-paste from one note to another, multitasking on different notes, etc.).

Switching between two notes is so annoying:

  • I have to browse to find these notes again and again
  • Every time, I have to localize again the position within each note that I was working on.

External editor is a workaround, but an ugly one, from the point of view of user experience. The tabs would be so helpful.

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I have the same use case as you and agree that...

is an aspect of using Joplin that could do with improvement.

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Being able to open multiple notes at once would be very useful.

I’m currently working on a project that I’m keeping notes for, but as I learn I’m also updating my notes on bash, network tools, and a few other things. Instead of having to navigate between multiple sub notebooks, I’d like to be able to pop notes out into multiple windows, so I can have 4 or 5 notes windows open at once.

I have enough space on my monitor to keep multiple of these windows open at once. It’s not just that I want to save time by not having to navigate between notes, I’d also like to be able to see multiple at one time.

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I’m another who would love to see multiple tabs - I think this is the single biggest limitation to Joplin for myself, at present. The ability to move quickly between at least two notes, and ideally more, seems fundamental to this kind of app. External editor is a cumbersome workaround on what is otherwise a magnificent tool!

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I would REALLY LOVE being able to have multiple tabs open at once, and being able to shift in between them with the standard shortcut for switching in between tabs. I’m working in several notes at once and with my workflow this is a tad difficult.

An alternative solution that would help a lot:
Create a shortcut that enables switching between the current note and the most recent note. For example, if CTRL + TAB would switch in between current note and previous / most recent note my workflow with be a lot better.

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I will just chime in here to vote a big yes to the idea of having a tabbed interface for exactly the reasons stated above by @j_f and @dpoulton

I would personally find it extremely useful AND I suspect it would draw a lot more people into the Joplin universe!

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I'd like multiple windows very much, too! Even just a simple Note-window without sidebars and such, like Apple Notes or Evernote have, is already very helpful.

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vscode + joplin can currently meet this scenario, but I personally think that the support of multi-tab pages is a matter of course @MrMacvos

https://joplin-utils.rxliuli.com/joplin-vscode-plugin/#overview

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@rxliuli Thanks, I've got it working on Mac. Great plugin! Joplin even marks all files I've open as being edited externally.

VSCode looks nice too; I'm a Sublime-user, and never seen VSCode before. I'll give it a try for a while, I think.

Note to Mac-users: .md files are opened by Xcode by default, unless you changed that already. You have to do a 'Get info' on a .md file, set 'Open with...' to 'Visual Studio Code' and select 'Change all' on the prompt. Only then, the note-files will be opened in VSCode when you click on them in the plugin.

1 Like

Another request for opening/editing multiple notes.

As @JackAWatt said, I think seeing multiple notes at once would be more helpful than switching between tabs.

For better or for worse, Evernote has conditioned the vast majority of note users (since EN is by far the biggest fish in the note app pond) to use multiple windows. Not that Joplin needs to incorporate all EN features, but the lack of this feature may be a stumbling block for those wishing to migrate to Joplin. And not that Joplin necessarily wants EN defectors, but that could be a large pool of support to keep this project going.

And in this day and age where many have multiple monitors or very large monitors that function as multiple screens, having multiple windows open seems more natural than switching tabs like we did 10+ years ago.

People wanted multiple tabs. Now they are available via a plugin and now people want multiple windows.

We've been talking about multiple profiles and multiple instances for a while now, but nothing has been decided yet.

While I do understand your argument, I also don't see it necessary to be implemented. If people love Evernote so much, they should stick with it. If they want to move, they will have to come to terms with the fact that another tool won't be 100% the same. This might be harsh, but Joplin is free SW. There's no monetary gain whatsoever, if EN users migrate to Joplin. Thus an argument, if we don't implement a feature, people won't migrate, is pretty much a moot point.

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Just a suggestion. Obviously I can't make the Joplin devs do anything they don't want to do.

I get that Joplin is free, but at some point it's going to need some kind of funding to stay competitive as note apps get more sophisticated. And having a large userbase helps with that. Consider the opposite scenario - if Joplin's userbase shrinks, you don't think that will impact the motivation of devs to continue this project?

Look at a long term successful FOSS project like LibreOffice. What's at the very top menu on the home page? A "Donate" link.

I can see your points, tessus, technically I agree with such approach for any free and paid software entirely. I buy the Porsche the way it is built, unless my name is Maradonna or Musk. This said, I think you should take care not to condescend your readers. It is not the first time I see this in your responses !

Most requests above were quite innocent and nothing but ... requests. You are a moderator, learn how to be a good moderator by taking yourself a little less serious, and sometimes just do not respond. This keeps the discussion going, and 7 posts down the line there may be a really useful response.

This is an art, is has to be learned. I do not mean this personally.

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@j_f
Your post is from a while ago, I am not sure you still care, j_f. But isn't the go> forward and go>back command good enough for your purpose ? It spans multiple notes seen since Joplin was started, and as a kepboard shortcut it is superfast.