Open multiple desktop windows at once or open objects as their own window
F
Faith Money
I have 3 monitors at my desk (I swear I need them all!!! 😂) and love being able to view multiple piece of information that I may need to update and reference all at once. I could do this by having a browser window open and the desktop window, but I don't love that workaround and sometimes I get a popup saying I'm already using Capacities in another window which interrupts the flow.
I'd love to be able to open another Capacities desktop window so I can have different information always accessible at any time. I know I can use tabs, pinning to the sidebar, etc. to try and organize within one window. Maybe it's just me, because I also have 3 monitors and could use tab management to organize information on one monitor but I choose to have 3 lol. I like to be able to see my stuff!
I'd also love to be able to open objects in their own window. This could even be a "mini" window without a sidebar - similar to when you open an object and it pops up as a preview rather than opening as a full page. If there was a button to open the object as a mini, floatable, resizable, independent window this could eliminate my need to have multiple desktop windows :)
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Beth
Merged in a post:
Pop-out windows
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Pavel Golodoniuc
Allow objects to be poped out of the main window into a separate window that can be dragged around independently, e.g., onto another display. Similar to how files opened in VSCode can be dragged outside the main window.
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Sean Evans
I feel multi window support is essential. All modern browser workflow is based on this concept. It feels like suddenly hitting a brick wall when I can't drag meeting notes to one screen and the project record I want to update from them to another.
You then have to start thinking about how capacities handles this and can I use the in app tabs or sidebar. How can I get to the new record I want to open without losing the one I currently have open? It's like suddenly engaging a mental load of how to handle capacities that breaks my concentration on the work I'm trying to do. Because capacities doesn't work like every other browser based app in this regard.
Beth
Sean Evans: You can make tabs in Capacities with Cmd/Ctrl Click on any link, or open in the sidebar with Cmd/Ctrl Shift Click. This should help open a new record without losing what you have open.
More info here and screenshots: https://docs.capacities.io/reference/navigation#side-panel
G
Galen Stocking
Sean Evans this 100%. There are a few ways that capacities handles new tabs that are different from most other apps, and it’s a big mental load that breaks concentration.
Just this morning I was trying to take notes from a meeting and integrate them into various projects. In obsidian or notion I would pull the meeting note I had open into a new window and then cycle through the various other notes I needed to integrate the information into in the main window. I ended up being able to do it with the sidebar, but the workflow to open it in the sidebar and open the specific other project notes I needed (which are in tabs or spread throughout) made it a much longer process.
I love capacities and the object based model but this is the one really hard pain point.
Beth
Merged in a post:
Dual Monitor Support
R
Raul Cabral
I have two monitors and would like to be able to open Capacities on both to improve productivity.
Capacities v1.49.3; none none; Windows v10; Chrome v134.0.6998.88 (WebKit v537.36); Desktop (Electron); 21/06/2025, 14:17:11; en (America/Sao_Paulo, UTC-3)
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Mohamed Zein
I was searching for a post with the grievance I had in mind. I work on multiple screens and typically work on two documents side by side. Tabs inside Capacities partially solve the problem, but it's not too practical for people requiring multiple screens to process large information.
The shortcut I found is open one window in the Capacities desktop app on one screen, and another window showing the Capacities web page on another.
Beth
Merged in a post:
Allow multiple concurrent windows to app
C
Cleve Ch
To allow faster referencing between two or more notes/objects, multiple concurrent windows should be allowed side by side. For instance, a new note could be created while refering to another created note at the same time side by side.
Beth
Does Shift + Clicking on a link to trigger the side panel work for this use case?
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Alec Justice
Beth Thank you! That is very helpful and I didn't realize this was possible until today. But it would be still be better if you could have multiple capacities windows that can be on multiple screens. Like what is mentioned here: https://capacities.io/feedback/p/open-multiple-desktop-windows-at-once-or-open-objects-as-their-own-window
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Jonathan S
Most times, I'm not working on just one thing at once, or need to refer to information elsewhere in my notes. If I don't have the ability to have multiple app windows open, it's extremely limiting and slows me down considerably. I can't do the most basic tasks. I can open a new browser window but then what's the point of a standalone app?
Beth
Jonathan S: If you shift click on any link you can open other notes in a side panel, which might work as a workaround.
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Jonathan S
Beth - thanks! I wasn't aware of this. It's not nothing, but it doesn't solve the total issue of needing to reference multiple concurrent sources unfortunately
Luca Joos
Merged in a post:
Support for separate windows on Desktop apps
A
Alec Justice
On the Desktop versions of the app, it would be wonderful if you could open an object as a full page in a separate Window. That way I can I have my notes object open in a separate window while still working on other objects in the main Capacities window.
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Myles Orme
The inability to open a block or object in its own (simple) window, and the lack of a distraction free mode (the two are in my mind intimately linked) are, as far as I can see, the only missing feature that blocks my adoption of the tool.