Still hoping to see separate instances of the desktop app become possible

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    Frank (Workflowy Support)

    Not too far from now we would like to build a "panes" feature that allows for side-by-side instances of WorkFlowy.

    For now, you can star any page so that it appears in your left bar and then you can drag items between your main page and the left bar.

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    Saverio J Marrocco

    That would be nice to see, although it would still limit the number of visible workflowy 'instances' to two.

    Starring, bookmarking, etc. doesn't help in large moving of items between sections of an outline, it is similiar to the existing 'left column' where what you can do in that 'special area' is extremely limited by comparison to the 'main work area'. The idea is that you have more than one fully-functional work areas between which you can drag/move/create/edit items.

    Perhaps 'side-by-side' would even also allow more than two fully-functional columns? While not quite as flexible as multiple instances of the app, it would help a lot with organization of large amounts of items. Thanks.

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    Max Yakin Bozek

    +1 

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    Wayne Hynd

    I have ADHD, so with a severely limited "working memory", I cannot keep clicking away from what I am currently working on. I might be able to remember one click away from my focus, but if I have to do 2 or more, I cannot remember where I started. I CAN remember if it is still currently in my visual field. (See ADHD analogy below.) Saverio's running multiple instances is the only solution I know for my use case:

    • 1st Instance: My top-level Workflowy (everything categorized into high-level knowledge domains, e.g., Culture, Finance, Health, House/Equipment, Relationships, etc.)
    • 2nd Instance: My Project Dashboard, e.g., Today's tasks, Current Projects, Other Projects, Templates...
    • 3rd Instance: Today's "One Thing" Project, e.g. the screenplay I am currently writing, with all the reference materials, script, script fragments/ideas, plot, other plot ideas, characters, character background, etc., etc., etc...

    Analogy: If most people have 8 or 16 GBs of working memory "RAM", then ADHDrs could be said to have only 1-2 MB to hold stuff in memory while it is being worked on. No matter how great our CPU is, without enough RAM there is lots of swapping in and out between RAM and the hard-disk. To wrap up this analogy: by having multiple instances of Workflowy in our visual field, we are essentially using "extended RAM".

    I use 5 screens (laptop, 3 external monitors, and smartphone) for 3 instances of WF + Calendar + Blaze Shortcuts + Google Drive + Reference books + Tick Tick +... This works great, but if it is not in my visual field...it doesn't exist for me!

    Finally: According to NIH, adults between 18-44 having ADHD is estimated at approx. 8.1% of U.S. population...SO: figure about that percent of Workflowy users have this problem. 

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    Saverio J Marrocco

    Wayne,

    Out of sight, out of mind, correct?

     

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    Vicki Solomon

    I am able to have multiple browser window open, each with a Workflowy window in it.
    If that doesn't work for you, try different browsers, ie, edge and firefox.

    I don't know if it will work for what I really want to do yet, but I can get more than one Workflowy open at a time.

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    Vicki Solomon

    I am able to have multiple browser window open, each with a Workflowy window in it.
    If that doesn't work for you, try different browsers, ie, edge and firefox.

    I don't know if it will work for what I really want to do yet, but I can get more than one Workflowy open at a time.

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    Eric Alstrom

    There is an extension that will allow you to have multiple views of Workflowy side by side within one browser tab.  You can't drag or drop, but you can see more than one location in your outline.  Not a replacement for having built in panes/tabs/views, but better than nothing for the time being.

    Workflowy Multiflowy:

    https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/workflowy-multiflow/khjdmjcmpolknpccmaaipmidphjokhdf

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