Bookmarks not shared with duplicate window

[Pete Moss]

I frequently open a duplicate window and position them side by side so I can read code from one place while I am writing code in another.

I just discovered that the duplicate window does not inherit the bookmarks that are set in the first window.

Similarly, if I create bookmarks in the second window, they are not propagated to the first window.

Worse, when I exit UE, the bookmarks that are saved are from just one of the windows.

I suppose this could be a useful feature, but I would like to be able to suppress it.

Is this a bug?

It is fixed in 16?

[Mofi]

Is this a bug? It is fixed in 16?

This is not a bug. The duplicate window is by design independent of the main document window. What the main document window and the duplicate window have common is that both are showing the content of the same file. In other words you edit with two windows completely independent from each other window the same file at the same time like when opening two instances of UltraEdit and work with both on the same file. So there is nothing to fix and UE v16.00 works here like UE v14.20.

What could be improved is that UltraEdit saves the bookmarks from both windows on close for the file. I suppose that currently UltraEdit saves the bookmarks of the first window closed and overwrites that information when closing the second window for the same file instead of combining the bookmark lists of both windows on close. The reason is probably also by design. When you would work with 2 separate instances on the same file the result would be the same.

When you want to work on two locations of a file at the same time and want that bookmarks, code folding, etc. is the same for both windows, you have to split the document window into 2 panes instead of using a duplicate window. Of course document window splitting allows only a vertical window pane arrangement, not a horizontal arrangement as when using duplicate windows.

Computer displays are nowadays designed (unfortunately) for viewing movies than for working on text documents because the width is much higher than the height of the display and rotating the display to get smaller width but more height is often not possible with large displays. The result is that more and more applications are designed to make use of the larger width by arranging additional views and toolbars on left or right side to increase the height for the document window itself.

[Pete Moss]

Well, then it's not a good design. It makes no sense on several levels.

First of all: There is no "main" window. Which one is the main? What features does it have that the duplicate does not?

Second: The bookmark implementation is chaotic.
1. If I open a document with bookmarks, then make a duplicate, the bookmarks are not duplicated. How is that a duplicate?
2. If I open a document with bookmarks, then make a dupicate, then create any bookmarks in the duplicate, then close the original, then close the duplicate, the bookmarks in the original are lost.
3. If I do the same steps as in #2, but do not make any bookmarks, then the bookmarks in the original are preserved.
If that's not error prone, I don't know what is.

Third: Any editing I do in either window is immediately inherited by the other. This should apply to bookmarks.

Fourth: If I have two windows open (a "main" and a "duplicate") and I enter some test in one and then go to the other, Undo will undo the edits made in the other window. That's not very independent.

Even your analogy breaks down. For one thing, no editor should allow me to open two independent instances of the same document. Imagine the errors if I can open instance A, open instance B, edit and save A, edit and save B, rinse, repeat. I contend that this should apply to any attribute of the document, such as bookmarks, since they are saved as part of the document.

The only thing that would save this illogical design is two save two sets of bookmarks and reopen both "copies" the next time the document is opened -- or ask the user what to do with the bookmarks.

I say it's a bug in either the implementation or the design.

[tomek]

I believe Mofi confused the duplicate window function and the horizontal (or vertical) split function.
When one works with a document using duplicate windows the bookmarks should work the same way as editing does.
The only reason that this is not happening is that it must be a bug (and a big one as well). You should report it to UE (support@idmcomp.com)
since otherwise they may not be aware of this problem.
Tomasz

[Pete Moss]

No, I'm quite sure that Mofi understands the difference. He even mentioned the difference between duplicate and split. He just does not think it's a bug.

I have reported it to IDM. The say it was designed this way and is not a bug. (sigh)