Clarifying the Original Intent
Thank you all for the valuable feedback on my initial post about Merging and Managing Tabs in Tinderbox. I’d like to take a moment to clarify what I was originally trying to highlight, especially given the thoughtful responses that have come in.
The Core Idea
My main point was about Tinderbox as a tool for thinking with notes, not just storing them. The ability to open individual notes in separate windows (using Command+Option+X) is a feature that’s been around for a long time, yet I feel it’s underutilized in many workflows.
What makes this powerful is the ability to work across container boundaries. When you’re in the middle of a thought process—capturing, editing, creating, connecting, or integrating existing materials—having quick access to specific notes in separate windows means you can make those small updates that would otherwise be forgotten. It’s about reducing friction in the moment of thinking.
The Desktop Management Aspect
Of course, this approach only works if your workspace doesn’t become cluttered. That’s why knowing how to merge windows back together is equally important. The Merge All Windows function (which appears to be implemented at the OS level) is the key tool here. It works both for individual note windows and for main document windows.
This was the focus of our meetup session on December 14, 2025, which Michael Becker kindly made available quickly – 1. Link to the whole Session and 2. Link to the demonstration of tabbed group in Tinderbox. The session was part of our new “category” on Tinderbox best practices—looking at how long-standing, low-level features can profoundly support our thinking processes when used intentionally.
Why This Matters
In the spirit of “free thinking,” this isn’t just about technical capability—it’s about creating a workspace that supports the flow of ideas. The ability to have notes visible when you need them, and to clean up when you don’t, is a small but significant part of building a sustainable note-taking practice in Tinderbox.
I hope this clarifies the original intent. I’m grateful for the discussion this has sparked and look forward to hearing more about how others approach similar challenges in their own workflows.