12.3 AWI Not Working as Advertised

[Tim Osgood]

After upgrading to v12.3, I am not impressed by the new AWI functionality.

In 12.1, I could open multiple objects, they were tabbed across, I could switch between them, make changes and didn't have to save anything until needed.  I could open in a new window for easy comparison.

In 12.3, an object opens with a back button in the upper left.  If I want to open another object, I have to hit the back button to close and/or save the object, open a new object, then repeat.  Even using the browser (Chrome) back button, still closes the object.  The exception to this is if I select multiple objects at the same time, then it will open in individual browser tabs.  The problem there is I don't know what second object I need to open until I hit a snag in the first object.

I have watched the videos and it shows reports (and I assume any object) opening in a new browser tab, then you can line up side by side.  Everything I open overwrites what is currently displayed in the tab. The Automic Explorer back button then closes the object.

I have cleared my browser cache, I have set Automic to allow popups, added it to my trusted sites and still won't open in a new tab.  I even went to google home and edited the settings to allow open in new tab.  I also tried it in Windows Explorer with the same result.

Is there a setting in client 0 that I have to configure to allow new tabs when opening objects one at a time?  If not that, anything else I can try in my browser?

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Developer
State of Colorado
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[Philipp Elmer]

Hi Tim,

you need to Ctrl-click or middle-click on the object in order to open it in a new browser tab.

Double-click will open it inthe current tab and thus replaces the current view (e.g. the Explorer).

Cheers,
Philipp

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Philipp Elmer
Enabling Automic Knowledge
https://philippelmer.com
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[Tim Osgood]

Thanks for the info.  Such a simple thing that I missed.  Still, the previous AWI was better.

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Developer
State of Colorado
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[Shane Rogers]

I'm with you, Tim...

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the need to remember to either control-click or always use the middle mouse button. I miss the ability to have multiple "tabs" open in the single browser window, as opposed to now having to have multiple memory hogging chrome windows opened on my machine.

It sure would be awesome if this could be an option to toggle or something.

[Roman Embacher]

Hi Tim,

as Philipp mentioned, the middle-click opens the new tab, and one more thing it is possible to click on the new browser tab and drag it out of the current browser. Then you have a seperate window which e.g. can be moved to another screen for comparison. 

Regarding the usability i think it's a matter of taste. I worked with both AWI versions and prefer this one, as it feels more like working in a browser to me. During trainings i had the feeling that users that are new to automic get the workflow easier now. I also was searching for the tabs when i used it for the first time, but now after couple of weeks it feels really good to me with the new flow. 

Maybe the Input from Shane would be a good option. To make it possible to use tabs within the AWI as an additional option or so. 

Cheers,
Roman

[Carsten Schmitz]

​Hi.

Just a general note:

It has been well established that certain tab functions, especially with opening multiple native tabs at once don't work, or work differently, in certain browsers. Details can be found using the forum search. I have also posted this report to a closed PM forum.

Any discussion about these things should therefore include details, foremost the browser and version being used. And my recommendation to OP is to try a different browser and see if that changes the situation. For instance, IIRC, Chrome doesn't open multiple objects in new tabs from the object context menu whereas Firefox does. And to add to that, the goalpost is sometimes also being changed between different versions of the same browser. I'm afraid that's partly one of the realities of complex web apps (but hey, at least IE4 is dead :).

One proper way to deal with that would be Automic to perform functional testing with the supported browsers, automated with e.g. Selenium. But sadly they don't, or at least don't seem to do so.

Beyond that, I'm sorry to say this, you'll ultimately need to do one of two things: post to ideation if it's a feature request, or a bug report if it's a bug. Both ways may not always be as satifactory as one would wish for, but are usually still the bext available tools.

Br,