docs(spec): Tab strip position (top/bottom/left/right) — closes #835#20240
docs(spec): Tab strip position (top/bottom/left/right) — closes #835#20240sashankh wants to merge 1 commit into
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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>
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Contributor License AgreementContribution License AgreementThis Contribution License Agreement (“Agreement”) is agreed to by the party signing below (“You”),
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| author: Sai Sashankh @sashankh | |||
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| author: Sai Sashankh @sashankh | |||
| tabs on bottom/right/left") and resolves the long-standing duplicate | ||
| backlog (#9082, #9100, #10939, #18837). | ||
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| The architecture is adopted from @zadjii-msft's `dev/migrie/fhl-spring-2026/side-tabs` |
| backlog (#9082, #9100, #10939, #18837). | ||
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| 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: | ||
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| * **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: | ||
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| * `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. | ||
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| **Right (vertical).** Mirror of Left: `[content | splitter | tabstrip]`. The |
| ### Splitter clamp range is fixed | ||
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| 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 |
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| ### Edge-style collapsible sidebar | ||
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| 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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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.tabPositionsetting 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:VerticalTabViewStyle.xaml; the "Vertical" prefix is scope-accurate — it applies only to Left/Right, not to Top/Bottom)The spec covers:
WindowThemeand why it lives there rather thanGlobalAppSettingsor per-profileStyle/ControlTemplateextensibility point (only for Left/Right modes)TerminalPageis required today: MUX 2.8 has noTabStripPlacementonTabView(see microsoft/microsoft-ui-xaml#300, open since 2018), and WT keeps_tabContentas a sibling ofTabViewat the page root rather than insideTabView.TabContentPresenter_ApplyTabPosition()is monotonic) and the right-side accent bar nitFlowDirection, telemetry, status icons, acrylic/MicaPrototype 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:
SettingsModelunit tests pass (incl. the newParseTabPositionround-trip)Happy to iterate on the spec text, then file separate PRs for the implementation once the design is approved.
PR Checklist
tabPositionare isolated as a +11-line follow-up commit)