Allow multiple views to show at the same time

[00defeat]

Would be nice to be able to have both a left and right sidebar i,e file tree in left and VSC in right.

Kinda vibing off the multi panel layout of atom with github / git integration

Something like this

[leocaseiro]

I was going to open an issue for that. It would be very handy multiple sidebars for the Code Outline extension.

Perhaps this is issue is related to #15038

[tkgalk]

Multi-sidebar setups would be awesome, especially now with the Code Outline and GitLens 5.0+ Extensions!

[zaha]

Was just wishing for the same :)

[paco0x]

+1

[lig]

While I'd like to see two sidebars, I would like much more a tiled window manager like in Eclipse IDE.

[Hobart2967]

+1

[b-fuze]

I want this because I want some panes on a right sidebar and the rest on the left sidebar...

It's hard to see the code outline while also navigating my file tree.

[dimitrieh]

Going to post my mockup from #45283 as well:

[parascent]

+1

[zoldia]

+1

[aliihsanmv]

+1

[nedo2020]

+1

[ewan-sinclair]

+1

[lig]

Everybody, who adds redundant +1 comments. Please don't.

This will lead only to other people will unsubscribe from this and/or this issue will be locked out from comments. Both things are bad for the further development of this issue.

Please, consider adding 👍 to the original description. Just click the icon.

Thank you!

[dawid-s]

Hi there, I was just wondering, are there any (distant) plans on implementing this?

[michaeljota]

Giving that extensions now can create its own buttons and explorer panel, this would be a big deal for us as users.

[gulshan]

I think 4+ viewlet icons on the left(or right if configured) is what gives vscode the "Iconic" look. Even if two viewlets are enabled, one on left another on right, I think only one side should have the icons. The other side can have text only vertical tabs. And then it can be configurable to enable icons on both side, or text on both side.

[saluto]

Any progress on that? Generalizing the great new grid layout to manage all components, including viewlets, is the one thing I am really missing on VSCode. File and code browsing, git, debugging - all would be much easier without having to switch the viewlets every time. I strongly suggest looking at Atom as inspiration. It's nearly perfect.

[daniel-santos]

@wendellhu95 Looking great, good work!

[sketchbuch]

I would call it right panel, anything related to explorer is wrong since all views can be dragged out of any view container to where ever you want (activity bar, terminals panel). Just because the mockup shows explorer related views does not mean views from other view containers will not be put there, or that any explorer view container views will be there at all

[martin-braun]

Frankly, I have been forced to use this software for a Go project by my employer.

@daniel-santos Frankly, you should question your employer (and maybe your current position) more than the VSCode team.

[jqknono]

this issue existed for years, while the vscdoe-huawei from huawei has add it for one year. Maybe they cannot publish it to github.

[eazrael]

It takes volunteers to implement such features...

https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=58945
This feature request had it's 10th anniversary in 2014 and is still open. So 4 years is quite fast.

[stefanrybacki]

How this still an issue after 4 years ... seriously!

There are far more pressing features and issues that need addressing. This one is I agree nice to have but does not really impede being productive with VSCode.

[daniel-santos]

This one is I agree nice to have but does not really impede being productive with VSCode.

Speak for yourself, my friend. When working in Go, I'm ever clicking to change views when I have the horizontal space for most of those views to be on the screen at the same time. I'm either hiding and expanding the "Outline", or going back and forth between the explorer and debug views, or expanding and shrinking various panes within the debug view to either see some value or change the stack frame.

Don't assume that everyone is doing the same tasks with this editor that you are.

[daniel-santos]

@daniel-santos Frankly, you should question your employer (and maybe your current position) more than the VSCode team.

lol! I'm just spoiled on mature IDEs. VSCode is a young project. I agree with my employer's decision and I think it's currently the best option for Go development. But mostly, I need it to work for our customers.

My primary criticism lies with Microsoft's decisions in the early phase of the project. These lessons should have been learned from the prior decades of IDEs as well as GUIs, and widgets of every sort. It's a basic tenent to not paint ones self into a corner, which the early project management most certainly did. Perhaps they themselves were young and inexperienced.

I haven't dug into the sources yet, but given my project goals, I presume that I will be later this year. I sure know that it's a lot more work to retrofit such changes than to have designed and built it that way from the start.

It's a very powerful IDE and a great challenge to fit the needs of a wide swath of languages, debuggers, programming paradigms, etc. in addition to add-ons that alter the behavior -- which vscode seems to succeed at more than it fails.

[guntribam]

I did a quick search of some project issues and found that this is one that has the most comments and requests. I would very much like this feature to be implemented, but it is clear from hundreds of comments that this is not a priority. Why is it not a priority?

[martin-braun]

To everybody who wants to comment here: We surpassed 100 comments on this issue.

There is nothing wrong in commenting here, as long as it adds something new to the table. If it doesn't, please hold up.

With each comment you notify everybody who is subscribing to this issue. A lot of people just subscribed to get notified by news regarding this issue. Simply commenting that you also want the feature adds nothing to the conversion and notifies a lot of people for no good reason, really.

Please, scroll up and read the many comments and I am sure you will find plenty of people who expressed your opinion, already. If this is not the case and you think your comment brings notable value to the conversion (that everybody should be notified about), there is nothing wrong to comment, though.

Thank you for understanding. :)

[Lorenz-N]

I assume this would help a lot for extension development. While it wouldn't solve my current issue directly, it would be a good workaround to get a customized Outline view in conjunction with a custom Side Bar and other viewlets.

Related to: #49923 (comment)

[Smugger21]

@martin-braun After your repeated comments on this issue, I don't think you have room to talk. As one of the people subscribed to this issue (Almost a year), I have no problems seeing new comments, It lets me know people are interested in this topic still. So don't think you're opinion is the only one out there.

[martin-braun]

Hey everyone, big thanks to @wendellhu95 for working on a PR that will provide a 2nd side bar in VSCode to us. He is looking for people to test his build and report any bugs before requesting the PR, right now. You still have to build it yourself, but a Windows build is available.

EDIT:

I am starting to explore the second sidebar option this milestone. I appreciate the work that is done here. I will start by exploring the UX involved in opening up to a second side bar and then start with a prototype. I wanted to let you know as we try to increase the flexibility of our layout, there may be changes under the hood that don't match the direction you have gone here. For that reason, while we may not take this PR, we are working towards a similar goal and I will not hesitate to mention your contributions in release notes as we take them.

Originally posted by @sbatten in #128599 (comment)

It's great to hear that you are working on this. Looking forward to that! And if there's anything I can help with, do please let me know.

Since then, I might stop working on this. Any interested user could build from my branch as a temporary solution (it might already be adequate for daily use) before the official comes out.

Originally posted by @wendellhu95 in #128599 (comment)

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@Smugger21 You are free to have your opinion, but nobody forbids anybody to comment here, you should neither. If someone wants to comment, it's fine, but it would be nice to comment responsibly to reduce clutter, please.

[heartacker]

the new side bar is available now with insider,
enable it by:

"workbench.experimental.sidePanel.enabled": true,

thank you @sbatten & @wendellhu95

[renegadevi]

the new side bar is available now with insider, enable it by:

"workbench.experimental.sidePanel.enabled": true,

thank you @sbatten & @wendellhu95

This is great, a big improvement, however something is limiting it from moving everything. So I still have to switch between file explorer to debug to access the debug bar at top, but everything else I can move out from it.

[KamasamaK]

@renegadevi The main issue for discussing that experimental feature is #132893, so that's a good place to provide feedback about the limitations and ensure the developer sees it.

[gulshan]

Is there any way to show/hide the side panel with a single click or keyboard shortcut?

[BartaG512]

@gulshan
Open keybinding.json and add this.

	{
		"key": "ctrl+alt+oem_minus",
		"command": "workbench.action.toggleAuxiliaryBar"
	}

pro tip: if you have a programable mouse with extra buttons for example with a tilt wheel you can bind this command to it and it will be a much easier :)

[gulshan]

I would love to have a clickable button/icon for that!

[heartacker]

hi, All, I have published an extension https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=heartacker.toggle-panel for you to toggle the panel and side panel easily. there are two icon in the bottom-right bar to toggle