Tabs and windows
Arrange your work: switch, rename, colour, duplicate and close tabs, split the work area, move tabs to their own windows, and get your session back after a restart.
Every collection, IntelliShell, aggregation, SQL query or tool you open gets a tab in the work area. You can arrange tabs side by side, move them to separate windows, and the application remembers them between sessions.
Switch and reorder tabs
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Next tab | Ctrl+PgDn (wraps around) |
| Previous tab | Ctrl+PgUp |
| Reorder | Drag a tab header onto another one |
| Close | Click its ×, middle-click its header, or Ctrl+F4 |
| Close without the unsaved-changes question | Shift+Ctrl+F4 |
On macOS (not available yet), Ctrl shortcuts use ⌘, and closing a tab is ⌘+W.
The tab menu
Right-click a tab header:
| Entry | Action |
|---|---|
| Close Tab | Closes this tab (Ctrl+F4) |
| Close Other Tabs | Keeps only this tab |
| Close Tabs to the Left / Close Tabs to the Right | Closes the tabs on one side |
| Close All Tabs | Closes every tab |
| Duplicate Tab | Opens a second tab on the same collection, with the same query, view and page size. Shown only on tabs that can be duplicated |
| Split Vertically | Moves this tab to a second tab group on the right |
| Split Horizontally | Moves this tab to a second tab group below |
| Undock | Moves this tab to a window of its own |
| Move Tab to the Front | Moves the tab to the start of the strip |
| Rename Tab… | Gives the tab a custom name (empty restores the default name) |
| Choose Color | Colours the tab header |
Entries that do not apply are greyed out, for example Close Tabs to the Left on the first tab.
Compare two tabs side by side
- Open at least two tabs.
- Right-click one and choose Split Vertically (side by side) or Split Horizontally (one above the other).
- The tab moves to a second group with its own tab strip. Drag other tabs onto either strip to move them between groups.
The work area holds at most two groups. Splitting again changes the orientation. When a group has no tab left, the split ends. A tab cannot be split away from a group where it is alone.
Move a tab to its own window
- Right-click the tab and choose Undock, or drag its header outside the main window.
- The tab opens in a separate window with its own tab strip. Tabs you open while that window is active open in it.
- To bring a tab back, drag its header onto the main window. Closing an undocked window docks its tabs back into the main window: nothing is lost.
Useful with several monitors. Where the system cannot open separate windows, undocked tabs show as floating windows inside the main one.
Unsaved changes
Closing a tab that holds unsaved work (an IntelliShell script, an aggregation pipeline) asks first: save it, Don’t Save, or cancel. The same question comes when you quit.
Get your session back
When you quit, or if the application stops unexpectedly, your workspace is kept. At the next start the previous connections and tabs come back, in order, with their custom names, query bars, pipelines and unsaved script text.
- Make sure Preferences > Behavior > Enable session restore is on (it is by default).
- Quit and start the application again.
- Restored collection tabs show their query but do not run it: press Refresh (Ctrl+R) when you are ready.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Session restore on | Tabs come back at start, without a question |
| Session restore off, application closed normally | Nothing is restored |
| Session restore off, application stopped unexpectedly | Unsaved editors are recovered anyway |
| A tab could not be reopened (server down, connection deleted, password missing) | The Tabs Not Restored dialog lists it: Keep tries again at the next start, Discard Them forgets them |
The session file is written safely (a temporary file renamed into place), and a damaged file is set aside with a message instead of stopping the start-up.
Tips
- Two tabs on the same collection are only possible through Duplicate Tab; opening the collection again just brings its tab to the front.
- The connection tree follows the active tab (see The connection tree).
- Show or hide the global toolbar with Ctrl+Alt+B (View menu) to gain space.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|
| Split is greyed out | The tab is alone in its group, or it is in an undocked window. |
| Undock is greyed out | The tab is already alone in its own window. |
| A restored tab shows an error | Its connection could not open. Reconnect from the Connection Manager, then press Refresh in the tab. |