Windows vs tabs
20100503


http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=477751
Opera 10.51 "Open windows instead of tabs" broken

http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=436311&t=1272859525
Open windows instead of tabs


Posted 20100503
How I wish Opera would sort out the tabs-vs-windows functional overlap mess!
Some people prefer tabs, others windows. Whichever method people like and enable, they don't want clutter associated with the other method all over the place. I use 'new window' exclusively, and wish all the tab-related gumpf could be removed from all the Opera menus. I don't need 'tabs inside Opera', since the Windows task bar provides equivalent functionality, and I *like* having differently sizable windows for different sites I'm dealing with simultaneously.
But still so much tab-clutter in the File, Window and Preferences-Advanced menus!

Looking at the design of Opera's menus and configurations, it seems that Opera programmers can't conceive of the possibility that anyone would want to ignore tabs. 'But we put so much work into tabs, why wouldn't you want to use them?' As a consequence of that ideology, with every new version of Opera it seems to get harder to force Opera to always open new windows, never tabs or multiple views per window. Does no one at Opera test for this?

What prompts this complaint now-
I've just upgraded to Opera 10.53 from 10.01.  With 10.01 it was working nicely, but an apparent problem with a new Flash version forced me to try an upgrade. With 10.01, clicking on Desktop shortcuts (eg target: "C:\Program Files\Opera\opera.exe" http://whatever.com ) would open a new browser window, regardless of others already open. As I want it. Ditto for clicking on an Opera 'Open new window' button I have on the Address Bar.

Now with 10.53, although the 'Open new window' button still works, clicking on the same desktop icon as before just adds a new view to an existing Opera window. Since the tabs bar is disabled, the prior view vanishes and is now only accessible from Opera's Window menu. This is unacceptable!

Several workarounds have been offered in this thread, such as joshcryer's registry edit, and CMA454's "-newwindow" parameter in shorcuts. However, what's needed is a generic fix in Opera, that *stays* fixed in future versions, and doesn't require futzing with every PC on which a person is using Opera. Or editing every single Web address shortcut, which in my case are numerous and not all in the same place.

Come on guys, this is a serious bug. It appears to originate from a philosophical misconception among Opera developers, not comprehending that Tabs aren't necessarily beautiful. Some people prefer "OPERA FULLY SDI (single document interface)", and that doesn't mean battling with it to make it so with every new version released. Nor does it mean constantly wading through unwanted 'Tabs related' menu items all the time.
Every single time I've upgraded Opera, for maybe the last five switches, there's been some drama with forcing the new version back to operating in 'new windows only' mode. Every single time. This is one reason I keep auto-updates turned off - to try and minimize the number of times I have to deal with this annoyance.
This time you appear to have truly broken it, to the extent that workarounds involve horrible Registry edits or global editing of Windows shortcuts. Neither is acceptable as a 'fix'.

A related incidental - I sure wish that second set of 'minimize/restore/close' symbols was gone from the upper right, where it keeps getting accidental mouse hits when the _real_ one was intended. Those symbols are only there for use with tabs - there's no other conceivable purpose. With only ever one 'view' per window, they are completely pointless; just visual clutter. But there's no way to remove them? They are one more thing that should vanish if the Opera 'Preferences' had a sensible 'Windows vs Tabs' master selection item, and the user sets to 'Windows only'.
See http://everist.org/pics/misc/20100501_Opera_1053_commented.jpg