FileOctopus Two kinds of tabs
File → New Tab (⌘T) opens a native window tab. A pane can also have its own tabs: choose View → Panes → New Pane Tab (⌃⌥⌘T). Pane tabs let each part of a split keep several locations.
Use Next Pane Tab/Previous Pane Tab (⌥⌘]/⌥⌘[) within the focused pane. Use the menu's explicit Close Pane Tab or Close Pane command when you want to control exactly what closes.
Make a layout
- Choose View → Pane Layout → Side by Side, Stacked, or Grid for a preset.
- For a custom arrangement, choose View → Panes → Split Right, Split Left, Split Down, or Split Up.
- Drag a divider to resize. Use Make Panes Equal Size to rebalance or Zoom Pane to temporarily focus on one pane.
Drag pane tabs to reorder or transfer them. Dropping at a pane edge creates a split; cancel the drag to keep the original layout. Menu alternatives include Move Tab to Next Pane, Move Tab to New Pane on Right, Move Tab to New Pane Below, Swap with Next Pane, and Move Tab to Window.
Commands follow the active pane
Click the pane you want to work in before Find, Copy, Paste, or Quick Look. The Panes menu offers directional focus commands and Next/Previous Pane for keyboard use. For example, keep incoming files on the left and a project folder on the right, copy on the left, then focus the right before pasting.
Save and restore a workspace
- Arrange your panes, tabs, and folders.
- Choose Window → Save Workspace… and give it a descriptive name.
- Return later through Window → Open Workspace.
The Window menu also provides Rename Workspace, Duplicate Workspace, and Delete Workspace. These manage layouts, not the files shown in them. Session restoration can recover tabs and layout; an unavailable location remains a tab with a Try Again action rather than silently becoming another folder.
Workspaces are layout snapshots, not file backups or synchronized folders. Linked-pane navigation and folder compare/sync are not implemented.
Watch: arrange two folders side by side
Use the Side by Side preset, keep artwork visible in one pane, and focus the other pane to navigate independently.
Recorded in FileOctopus using fictional files. No audio. This clip demonstrates panes and focus. Named workspace saving and restoration are described in the steps above, not demonstrated by this clip.
Read the demo steps
- Open the Pane Layout menu and choose Side by Side.
- The left pane retains its selected artwork and preview; the right pane starts at the same folder.
- Focus the right pane and open Campaign while the left pane remains in Studio Launch.