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special-tabs.md

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Special Tabs System

Special tabs render application UI panels (Settings, About/Help) inline within the main tab bar, similar to how VS Code and Cursor handle their settings. This replaces the previous modal window approach, giving panels more screen real estate and a more integrated feel.

Architecture

Types

TabKind::Document                    # Normal file editing tab (default)
TabKind::Special(SpecialTabKind)     # Non-editable UI panel tab

SpecialTabKind enum (in state.rs):

  • Settings - Application settings panel
  • About - About/Help information panel

Designed to be extensible - add new variants for future panels (e.g., Extensions, Themes, Keybindings standalone).

Key Properties

Property Document Tab Special Tab
Editable Yes No
View mode selector Shown Hidden
Auto-save indicator Shown Hidden
is_modified() Checks content Always false
should_prompt_to_save() Checks content Always false
Session persistence Saved/restored Excluded
Tab title Filename (+ * if modified) Icon + panel name
Ctrl+S Saves file No-op

Single Instance

Only one tab per SpecialTabKind can exist at a time. AppState::open_special_tab() checks for an existing tab of that kind and focuses it instead of creating a duplicate.

Code Locations

What Where
TabKind, SpecialTabKind enums src/state.rs
Tab.kind field src/state.rs (Tab struct)
Tab::is_special() helper src/state.rs
AppState::open_special_tab() src/state.rs
AppState::open_settings_tab() src/state.rs
AppState::toggle_about() src/state.rs
Special tab content rendering src/app/central_panel.rs → render_special_tab_content()
Settings inline rendering src/ui/settings.rs → SettingsPanel::show_inline()
About inline rendering src/ui/about.rs → AboutPanel::show_inline()
Title bar special tab checks src/app/title_bar.rs
Save guard for special tabs src/app/file_ops.rs

Rendering Flow

render_central_panel()
  ├── Render tab bar (all tabs, including special)
  ├── Check active_tab.kind
  │   ├── TabKind::Special(kind) → render_special_tab_content(ui, kind)
  │   │   ├── Settings → settings_panel.show_inline(ui, settings, is_dark)
  │   │   └── About → about_panel.show_inline(ui, is_dark)
  │   └── TabKind::Document → (normal editor rendering)

Inline Panel Layout

Both show_inline() methods use a consistent layout:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Sidebar (140-160px)  │  Content (fills rest) │
│  ┌──────────────┐     │  ┌──────────────────┐ │
│  │ Panel Title  │     │  │                  │ │
│  │              │     │  │  ScrollArea with  │ │
│  │ ○ Section 1  │     │  │  section content  │ │
│  │ ● Section 2  │  │  │  │                  │ │
│  │ ○ Section 3  │     │  │                  │ │
│  │              │     │  │                  │ │
│  │ ─────────── │     │  │                  │ │
│  │ [Reset All] │     │  │                  │ │
│  └──────────────┘     │  └──────────────────┘ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Adding a New Special Tab

  1. Add variant to SpecialTabKind in state.rs:

    pub enum SpecialTabKind {
    Settings,
    About,
    MyNewPanel,  // Add here
}

  2. Update title() and icon() on SpecialTabKind.

  3. Add a show_inline() method to your panel struct.

  4. Add the rendering case in render_special_tab_content() in central_panel.rs.

  5. Add a trigger (keyboard shortcut, button, etc.) that calls open_special_tab(SpecialTabKind::MyNewPanel).

Previous Approach (Modal)

Before v0.2.7, settings and about panels were modal windows:

  • Rendered via egui::Window with semi-transparent overlay
  • Controlled by UiState.show_settings / UiState.show_about flags
  • Fixed size, centered on screen
  • The old SettingsPanel::show() and AboutPanel::show() methods still exist but are unused

The modal approach limited screen space and felt disconnected from the tab-based workflow.