Canvas and attribute tables treated as single 'object' in windows

[walking-the-talk]

What is the bug or the crash?

I upgraded from 3.20 to 3.26 and found that when I use a project any open attribute tables are no longer separate 'objects' on my windows task bar. Print layouts remain as separate 'objects' that can be selected. This behaviour appears to be the same as when using the identify tool with a pop-up form (i.e. each open attribute form is treated as part of the canvas window).

If this is a new 'feature' please turn it off by default - it is unexpected behaviour.

This change is confusing - I cannot easily work with multiple attribute tables or other apps that use overlapping screen footprint (e.g. transcribing field names from Excel - I have to close the attribute tables otherwise they overlay the Excel window when focus is on QGIS). Also I cannot easily navigate to different attribute tables except by dragging them around. I work with 2 screens and usually have the attribute tables on the 'auxiliary' screen to save switching between windows constantly.

Steps to reproduce the issue

Open a project with layers
Open more than 1 attribute table

Switch to another app

Select QGIS from windows task bar - only one task is visible for QGIS and all attribute tables that are open - it is no longer possible to navigate to them

Versions

QGIS version	3.26.0-Buenos Aires	QGIS code revision	0aece28
Qt version	5.15.3
Python version	3.9.5
GDAL/OGR version	3.5.0
PROJ version	9.0.1
EPSG Registry database version	v10.064 (2022-05-19)
GEOS version	3.10.3-CAPI-1.16.1
SQLite version	3.38.1
PDAL version	2.3.0
PostgreSQL client version	unknown
SpatiaLite version	5.0.1
QWT version	6.1.6
QScintilla2 version	2.13.1
OS version	Windows 10 Version 2009

Sorry - I'm not copying all my plugin data here

Supported QGIS version

• I'm running a supported QGIS version according to the roadmap.

New profile

• I tried with a new QGIS profile

Additional context

No response

[roya0045]

The tables are minimized at the bottom of the screen, you can still get them back, just not the same way.

[walking-the-talk]

Thanks for this - I found that they are minimised if I minimise them manually, but if I just switch between apps that is not the case.

It sounds like this is a 'new feature' - I didn't see it listed in the changelog and currently I find it difficult to work with intuitively. Hopefully someone can explain the advantage of this... I can't differentiate the tables when minimised, so what is the advantage of minimising vs closing? At least in the previous iteration I could often tell from the different 'thumbnails'.

Odd that it has been done for attribute tables and not for print layouts? Would be good to be consistent? Or for the behaviour to be an option?

Apologies if this sounds negative - I'm trying to be objectively critical.

[roya0045]

The feedback is welcome, I'm not sure if this was intended or a side effect of another change, my response was simply to provide you with a way to retrieve them until this is sorted out.