Multiple windows open in one session

[briananderson15]

I'd like it to have multiple files open in one session of DWF Viewer. It clutters up my task bar with many instances like IE used to!

[scott.sheppard]

Thank you for this input. It is very serendipitous. We are talking today about SDI versus MDI. Years ago Microsoft applications were all Multiple Document Interface (MDI). Then there was a shift where most of them are now Single Document Interface (SDI). The Autodesk DWF Viewer and Autodesk Design Review have adhered to the industry standards.

On the other hand, we recognize that DWF files have grown from single sheet files to containing multiple sheets. People do want to look at two or more sheets simultaneously. So we are pondering going against the industry trend to better serve the needs of our customers. Thank you for your feedback. I will share it in our meeting today!

[DarrenYoung]

Scott, Are these applications really SDI now or are they still MDI only creating a small shell application to get the dispaly on the task bar (alt-tab).


From the user's perspective, I don't know that they distinguist between the technical explinations of SDI & MDI. If a MDI application had an option for showing each open document as an item on the task bar, or not showing it, they wouldn't care for the most part how it's implemented.

Some like to alt-tab between open documents, some would rather use Ctrl-tab from within the application. I don't think they're concerned with if entire application itself is loaded multiple times or not, it's all transparent to them.

I'd use the functionality in Excel as an example of what I think most people now expect, primarily because of the huge influense Microsoft has on user expectations. From Excel, I can Crtl-Tab through the open documents or use the Window pull down menu to get access to the multiple open documenbts, or I could use Alt-Tab to switch between them.