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docs(spec): Tab strip position (top/bottom/left/right) — closes #835#20240

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@sashankh sashankh commented May 17, 2026

This is a spec-only PR per @DHowett's guidance — no code changes, just the design document at doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md.

Closes #835 (also resolves duplicates #9082, #9100, #10939, #18837 once implementation lands).

Summary

The spec documents the proposed theme.window.tabPosition setting with four values: top, bottom, left, right — adopting the design from @zadjii-msft's FHL prototype branch (dev/migrie/fhl-spring-2026/side-tabs). All four positions get equal treatment in the spec:

  • Top (default) — bit-for-bit unchanged from today; uses the existing titlebar-integrated tab strip
  • Bottom — row-reorder of the existing layout; tab strip below the content
  • Left / Right — three-column layout (tab strip / draggable splitter / content) using a custom XAML re-template (VerticalTabViewStyle.xaml; the "Vertical" prefix is scope-accurate — it applies only to Left/Right, not to Top/Bottom)

The spec covers:

  • The new enum on WindowTheme and why it lives there rather than GlobalAppSettings or per-profile
  • XAML re-template strategy using MUX's documented Style/ControlTemplate extensibility point (only for Left/Right modes)
  • Why imperative grid manipulation in TerminalPage is required today: MUX 2.8 has no TabStripPlacement on TabView (see microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml#300, open since 2018), and WT keeps _tabContent as a sibling of TabView at the page root rather than inside TabView.TabContentPresenter
  • All four position layouts described mathematically (verified on a working prototype: LeftMargin=421, RightMargin=420, BottomMargin=76, TopMargin=81 px)
  • 4 honest "Potential Issues" including the runtime-toggle architectural limitation (_ApplyTabPosition() is monotonic) and the right-side accent bar nit
  • 7 "Future considerations": collapsible sidebar, clockwise rotation hotkey, hover-to-expand, RTL FlowDirection, telemetry, status icons, acrylic/Mica

Prototype status

A working prototype that implements this spec exists locally (not part of this PR). It has been validated end-to-end on a clean dev box:

  • Build clean, 143/143 SettingsModel unit tests pass (incl. the new ParseTabPosition round-trip)
  • 21/21 UIA-based e2e tests pass (idempotent test suite, separate file)
  • All 4 positions render correctly on cold-restart
  • The original "launch crash" from @zadjii-msft's machine was confirmed environmental (bisected to a v1 commit that previously launched fine), not a code defect

Happy to iterate on the spec text, then file separate PRs for the implementation once the design is approved.

PR Checklist

@microsoft-github-policy-service microsoft-github-policy-service Bot added Issue-Feature Complex enough to require an in depth planning process and actual budgeted, scheduled work. Area-Extensibility A feature that would ideally be fulfilled by us having an extension model. Area-UserInterface Issues pertaining to the user interface of the Console or Terminal Product-Terminal The new Windows Terminal. labels May 17, 2026
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
Comment thread doc/specs/#835 - Tab Strip Position.md Fixed
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Documents the per-theme window.tabPosition setting (top/bottom/left/right)
that closes the 5-year-old feature request and resolves duplicates microsoft#9082,
microsoft#9100, microsoft#10939, microsoft#18837. Spec covers design, capabilities, known limitations,
and follow-up work; matches format of existing specs (microsoft#532, microsoft#4066, microsoft#1337,
microsoft#1564, microsoft#16599).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
@sashankh sashankh changed the title docs(spec): Vertical Tabs (#835) docs(spec): Tab strip position (top/bottom/left/right) — closes #835 May 17, 2026
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@@ -0,0 +1,623 @@
---
author: Sai Sashankh @sashankh
@@ -0,0 +1,623 @@
---
author: Sai Sashankh @sashankh
tabs on bottom/right/left") and resolves the long-standing duplicate
backlog (#9082, #9100, #10939, #18837).

The architecture is adopted from @zadjii-msft's `dev/migrie/fhl-spring-2026/side-tabs`
backlog (#9082, #9100, #10939, #18837).

The architecture is adopted from @zadjii-msft's `dev/migrie/fhl-spring-2026/side-tabs`
FHL prototype, with finishing touches for runtime mutation, Settings UI, and
Prior art the feature is modeled on:

* **Microsoft Edge.** The vertical-tabs button in the title bar collapses the
tabs into a left-edge rail. Edge popularized the affordance on Windows in
splitter column. It registers four pointer event handlers:

* `PointerEntered` / `PointerExited` — swap the `CoreWindow` cursor between
`SizeWestEast` and `Arrow` so the user gets a visual affordance.
(label + glyph) rather than just "+" — vertical real estate makes the label
read naturally.

**Right (vertical).** Mirror of Left: `[content | splitter | tabstrip]`. The
### Splitter clamp range is fixed

Tab strip width is clamped to `[100, 400]` pixels. Users with 4K or
ultrawide displays may want a wider strip; users on tablet-sized devices

### Edge-style collapsible sidebar

The most-requested follow-up. Edge ships a pinnable/collapsible sidebar
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/use-vertical-tabs-in-microsoft-edge-cd9c3d4c-cb56-4203-a93e-cce5b71e7d5b>
* Visual Studio Code — `workbench.editor.tabs.placement`
<https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/configure/custom-layout#_editor-tabs>
* @zadjii-msft's prototype branch — `dev/migrie/fhl-spring-2026/side-tabs`
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curl -s -S -L 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/check-spelling/check-spelling/cfb6f7e75bbfc89c71eaa30366d0c166f1bd9c8c/apply.pl' |
perl - 'https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/actions/runs/26001236440/attempts/1' &&
git commit -m 'Update check-spelling metadata'
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Dictionary Entries Covers Uniquely
cspell:csharp/csharp.txt 32 2 2
cspell:aws/aws.txt 232 2 2
cspell:fonts/fonts.txt 536 1 1

Consider adding to the extra_dictionaries array (in the .github/actions/spelling/config.json file):

    "cspell:csharp/csharp.txt",
    "cspell:aws/aws.txt",
    "cspell:fonts/fonts.txt",

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Area-Extensibility A feature that would ideally be fulfilled by us having an extension model. Area-UserInterface Issues pertaining to the user interface of the Console or Terminal Issue-Feature Complex enough to require an in depth planning process and actual budgeted, scheduled work. Product-Terminal The new Windows Terminal.

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Feature request: Enable customization for tabs on bottom/right/left

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