My only grievance with Opera is the lack of collapsible tab grouping in the same tab strip as a feature like Chrome has. Opera had too once before, and it has been a deeply missed feature by those who remember it. I implore the Devs for this feature, even if it were only available as a flag where people can have the choice to enable/disable it as they please. Workspaces are in no way an equivalent comparison and serve a different organizational purpose. Tab strip tab grouping makes a world of a difference in situations that don't warrant a completely separate window, making workspaces are more of an inconvenience than any added benefit. If Opera had both workspaces and tab strip tab grouping, it could really be the browser to pioneer the utilization of both features together- being unique, having the upper hand, and surpassing the others in advancement. Note- I’m not saying workspaces don’t serve any purpose at all; I’m just saying they are not an end-all-be-all 100% fitting alternative feature.
Examples:
I have an array of tabs open for multiple classes. Sure, I could create a workspace for each class, but imagine doing that for every class, and taking 7-8 of them each semester. That’s a constant set of 7-8 workspaces at minimum assuming I only have one per class.
In a tab group with any number of tabs, I can close the whole tab group at once, but a workspace with any number of tabs cannot be closed in the same in the same manner or with the same shortness of steps to click
Chrome’s tab groups in one window aren’t carried over upon opening a second window, and while the tabs within an Opera workspace of one window are also not carried over upon opening a second window, the workspaces themselves are. This is most inconvenient when I have a workspace for one thing in one window and has nothing to do with any of my other windows. Additionally, I’m left to separate my groups in more windows because of this too.
You can use the same tab group color more than once in any number of windows, but you can’t use the same workspace icon twice. This has multiple limitations.
Names of tab groups are always visible (and even optional), so if labeled, it’s so easy to read all of them side-by-side all at once. I can’t do the same with workspaces without opening the sidebar which 1) impedes visibility of whatever is behind it and 2) doesn’t stay pinned, so if I’m repositioning my tabs, I’m flying blind trying to drag and my tabs to a different workspace trying to remember which one is which in what window because the dang symbols are in the exact same in the exact same order in. every. window.
Tab groups and workspaces have the same limit of expansion of the grouping being moved to be a new, separate windows, but workspaces cannot be condensed as far as tab groups that can be condensed to single tabs on a single tab strip
A single tab can be its own tab group doubling as a moveable placeholder, but workspaces of single tabs are immovable
Being able to see the tabs within each tab group at the same time to easier decide placement as I rearrange within a single tab strip versus across many tab strips
Separating out miscellaneous tabs that fit better as a tab between two groups versus being inside a group or made to be in a workspace
I can expand a tab group and drag another tab directly into it and next to whatever tab I want, or I can collapse the tab group and be able to reposition the group itself or the tabs around it of one unlike workspaces that are less convenient repositioning
I can move a whole tab group collectively to its own new window, unlike workspaces where I would need to individually select each tab in a workspace individually and after doing so, I am limited to only being able to move them to other workspaces
If I’m trying to distinguish one set of tabs from another in the same workspace and window, I’ll open a new tab to the speed dial to put in between my smaller clusters just to have them act as markers unlike real tab groups that allow me to name and color coordinate my tabs in the same tab strip
If I have a cluster of tab groups, the worst they do is narrow my free tabs in the tab strip. Even with that happening every tab is still in my line of sight, but you can only have so many workspaces before they push the other sidebar buttons out of my immediate view and do so not just affecting the sidebar for one window but also for every other window.. and I actually use my sidebar more for the other button shortcuts than workspaces but, again, I can’t hide workspaces in one window without affecting all other windows too
If I utilize different workspaces in different windows, I have to click through each of the workspaces in each window until I find the one I need, and it’s so easy to lose track of which window has which workspace with which tabs
If you’ve made it this far, here are two of my experiences where tab groups were significantly more efficient:
Experience scenario 1:
I’m online shopping to replace a hair product that I’m running out of. I can’t remember where I bought it from, so I start checking if Walmart has it in stock. I gradually increase my tab count by comparing different retailers with my product, without my product but with somewhat similar alternatives by the same brand, without my product but with more similar alternatives by different brands; more tabs get added by having multiple products in each of those scenarios to compare the same way. I see an alternative product and brand that I start to like more than my original product. I end up repeating the same process from the beginning and add more tabs in search of this alternative- keeping all the other tabs open to mitigate performing the same search circumstance twice and to cross checking the finds from the new search with the other previously found finds. Now, I’ve got small clusters of tabs with multiple variations of grouping that could be organized more advantageously with tab strip tab grouping. I tend to rearrange my clusters as I go about doing other things in other windows. If I move some to other workspaces, as I go along and bounce between windows. I may not remember what I’ve moved and where (poor short-term memory). Easy to check, yes, but still an inconvenience the more I need to do so when I’m gradually creating more and more workspaces. It then becomes a cycle that is a hassle, and not then it’s not worth using the feature altogether.
Experience scenario 2:
If I have a window pertaining to a general topic- say, an online class- and I have an open book/ open notes quiz covering multiple chapters- say, chapters 1 to 5- and each chapter had its own set of links for notes, supplemental powerpoint slides, and homework solutions. I open them all at once in separate tabs next to my quiz tab. I arrange them next to one another by chapter and then resource type. With tab grouping, I could have the added benefit of naming each group by chapter and knowing right away which tabs pertain to each chapter. With workspaces, I could similarly have workspaces for each chapter, but lose time having to click through 5 different tab strips instead of just 1 tab strip. I’d also have to take time in to decide if it’s better to 1) rename the first 5 existing workspaces I have for convenience 2) add 5 more workspaces, name those, and hide the other existing workspaces to have the new workspaces moved up as close as possible 3) add 5 more workspaces, name those, keep the existing and new workspaces all up and losing sidebar proximity -ultimately, when starting from a fresh, new window, the more existing workspaces I have beforehand, the more potential time loss having to take additional time to organize both old and new workspaces versus tab groups that do not have pre-existing groups as a factor AND the amount of time lost would increase at a higher rate for workspaces compared to tab groups with the addition of chapters and resources because the number of tab strips is a variable that changes with each additional workspace where for tab groups it remains constant.
I hope this serves to give more thought to incorporating same tab strip tab grouping. Thank you!
