A while back I posted about the possibility of having a history list for tabs so that you could use a keyboard shortcut to quickly switch to the last file you were editing. The resolution proposed was to use drag sorting to locate the files next to each other, and then use tab navigation to switch back and forth. With only 3 or 4 visible tabs and many files open, most of my open files are pushed off the tab bar. Can you drag sort items if they are not currently visible as a tab?

I still think my history list idea has merit. Maybe everyone else is far more organized, but I've basically devolved to using the mouse and the project drawer to switch files -- unless I know I am going to be editing two files side by side for a while, in which case I will close one -- switch to the other, then open the first one again so that I know they are side by side.

I realized that this style of working is essentially what I would like out of the History List that I proposed. In other words, if you completely ignore the tab bar as a traditional tab bar, it would function exactly like the history list if -- when switching to a file from the project drawer, the file acts as if it was not open, and appears as a tab to the right of the currently open tab.

I fear I did not explain that well, but the idea is simple. When selecting a file for edit, first close the file, then open it (or behave as if this was done). If the file is selected from the tab bar, then leave the behavior as it is. With this behavior, the tab bar would become a history list, and it would be simple to swap between files using the already existing tab navigation shortcuts.

Is anyone else overwhelmed by the tab navigation as it stands? This metaphor works great for something like browsing -- because I can open up a new window if I have too many tabs already open in the current window. I hate to keep bringing up emacs-isms, but the switch buffer commands are very powerful (switch to last buffer, or switch to buffer by using filename completion). Combine the project drawer with some sort of history navigation, and I would be very happy.

Thanks, Wayne