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Add option to automatically move files to current tab group on open #204942

@jonathanjameswatson

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@jonathanjameswatson

From @aguynamedben in #41289:

I wish to live in a "don't-care-about-tabs" world but still want a way to split my editor's UI. However, the idea of tabs and tab groups seems deeply embedded into VS Code's ability to split windows, so I'm skeptical this is coming any time soon.

The best way out of this I can think of is some kind of settings such as:

"workbench.editor.moveToCurrentTabGroupIfOpen": true,

This would be similar to workbench.editor.revealIfOpen but opening a file that's already open in another tab group would move that file into the current tab group. Then I could disable all tab-centric UIs in VS Code and indiscriminately open any file within any split and not end up with a mess of duplicate files open across many tab groups. I think this might be sufficient for most tab-haters.

Working without Tabs could say:

If you're used to text-focused editors such as Emacs or vi and simply want to view any open file within any split without regard for tab or tab groups, set:

"workbench.editor.showTabs": true,
"workbench.editor.revealIfOpen": true,
"workbench.editor.moveToCurrentTabGroupIfOpen": true

With this setup, the underlying tabs and tab groups system will continue power which files are shown in which visual split, but that will be mostly irrelevant in day-to-day use. You wont see tabs, and opening a file will "move" the open file into whatever tab group ("visual split") you're focused on, similar to Emacs buffers and "windows".

#41289 was originally closed as it was out of scope. However, this suggested feature does not seem out of scope and seems easier to implement than just removing editor groups altogether. I would be happy to try to implement this.

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    feature-requestRequest for new features or functionalityworkbench-editor-resolverIssues resolving the editor inputsworkbench-editorsManaging of editor widgets in workbench window

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