The chances are quite bad, to be honest. The problem is not a technical but rather a conceptional one. We have not yet found an easy, unobstrusive and obious way to have two documents shown at the same time. However, we are open to all ideas!

In Ulysses, what you see underneath a tab is an open document. If we showed two documents underneath the same tab, we would need to find a new way to let the user know which document is active (not so hard, switch tab titles), and which documents are open (multiple tabs, some hold one, some two documents).

That's just one of the conceptual problems.

Ah yes, this helps. Thanks.

In my naiveté and ignorance I ask: Why not simply allow the view with focus to determine which tab is enlarged (showing which document is active), and to determine which notes, excerpt, metadata, etc. are displayed?

Perhaps I'm too thick to understand. Sorry if this is the case.

I think this would need to be a completely separate "synopsis mode" (similar to the "Search and Replace" mode or the "Exporter" mode already existing, which are also separate from the "tabbed documents mode").

This mode (or view) would need to be called from the menu. And one would then need to open the documents one wishes to compare from the browser (no tabs! just these two documents).

Maybe these two documents could even be side by side rather than stacked on top of each other? That's how a synopsis is usually organized visually. Notes and such could be at the bottom, then. Interestingly, this might also allow for using one document to store "comments" on another one.

This solves all the problems mentioned above, I think, in the sense at least that it would allow you to start developing a vision for this mode from scratch.

Would also avoid confusion for those who don't want to use it because they would never enter this new mode.

While I think this is, conceptually, how it should be done, it still remains debatable whether it's worth the effort....

Does this make sense?

@jb: As I said, it's not so much a problem with the active tab (the enlarged tab, as you say).

But just imagine having ten tabs. One is active, holds two documents -- not a problem. But what about the other nine? How would you even know how many of these tabs hold more than one document? And how should we show the state (modfied/saved) for the document that's not in focus?

Look, let's say the topmost document is active and modified. The tab shows its name and a dot. You then select the document at the bottom. This one is saved. The tab shows its name but no dot. You then switch to another tab. You edit the document there. You quit Ulysses. You come back the other day, open your project -- you'll have two tabs open, but three documents. You wouldn't know, of course, because Ulysses only shows two tabs. One tab shows "saved", but it's not true, because it holds another document which, in fact, is "modified".

This is just one of the many (many) conceptual problems. Sure, with one tab open, it's no problem at all, but some folks have twenty open tabs...

ben's idea is nice, though I don't understand why it could be called "synopsis". Care to elaborate?

fehnman wrote:
"But just imagine having ten tabs. One is active, holds two documents -- not a problem. But what about the other nine? How would you even know how many of these tabs hold more than one document? And how should we show the state (modfied/saved) for the document that's not in focus?"


Some of my confusion seems to come from my being new to Ulysses.
I didn’t know that one tab could hold more than one document.
I’ve looked in Help for an explanation of this but haven’t been able to find anything. Would you be able to point me in the right direction?

I'm particularly confused because in Help I read this:

"The upper part of every document has a so called "tab" which holds the document title. "


Thanks.

One example from a project I’m working on right now:

I have the text of some footnotes in one document, the text to which these notes need to be added in another document, and a third document that contains text in Greek from which I need to draw now and then in revising.

It’s easiest to have quick access to all three, but really the third I turn to only periodically. So two windows is fine, not to mention that three would be unsightly.

Now Ulysses does have tabs and in many ways this is a decent substitute. I can switch back and forth among these three using tabs. But having worked with two windows in other apps, I’ve become used to it. It’s important to say, though, that those other apps don’t have tabs. So in practice the advantage there is perhaps even outweighed by Ulysses’ tabs. At least for me.

Having split-screen with two documents is not a requirement for me—given that there are tabs. I was just trying to understand why it’s not possible to have both. Have to say that I still don’t understand, but perhaps some enlightenment will come my way ;-)

Still wondering, e.g., how it’s possible for one tab to hold two documents? Is it?

jb: What you describe can all be done in Ulysses. Write your text in the main editor. Place footnotes in the accompanying notepad. Select the Greek document in the browser (just select it, single-click) and check its contents in the preview.

We also have a nica feature called preview zoom. When you want to have two docs side by side, just click that little zoom button right above the preview pane. I'll put it to a size quite big enough to get a good glimpse at the document. Plus: It's very easy to switch to a different one. Maybe even easier than any tabbed solution.

Yes, I really like this feature, and while I do not use it often, when I need it it's very practical because of the zoom.

Sometimes it might be handy to have a second screen—like when you're working with large original sources. These could be displayed in another app if you have a second screen. I don't have one—opted for the 23" cinema display which I love, as it can display two A4 pages side by side (in Skim, usually).