New Webdock, Tab Folders, App Power-Ups, Navigator Update, and more!

Faster, slicker, and packed with great new productivity features—we're totally 🥰 smitten with our first major update for 2022!

Our UI refresh has been in development since the start of the year, and following a hugely successful Beta trial, it's now available to everyone. Get ready for new webdock layouts, updates to tooltip menus, new drag and drop functionality for tabs, and a whole lot more. Let's take a look around...

User feedback has guided us on this one, and so the webdock has undergone a pretty major 🪄transformation! We hope you like it.🤞 Using a new icon in the top left-hand corner, you can toggle between two interchangeable layouts. Let's take a look around...

You no longer need to choose between icon and list layout; just drag the webdock horizontally in and out between the two. We've also made collapsable dividers smoother and improved drag and drop across the board, so it's easier to rearrange and combine your groups.

• Also new are tab count badges - these are grey circle icons on group/app icons, displaying the number of tabs for that app/group. To turn them off go to: Settings >  Tabs & Windows > Show Group & App Tab counts > Toggle OFF.

Click on the webdock layout icon to select the Explorer layout—it looks like a little filing cabinet. This fully expanded view displays all your groups, apps, tabs, and tab folders in one view. It also removes the top toolbar and tabstrip to give more space in the main window.

• To collapse or expand a group/app/tab folder, hover over the title and click on the down arrow.
• Add a tab: If there are no tabs in the app, hover over the app title to reveal a + icon and click on it to add the first tab.
• Add an app: You can also use the right-click menu on any app/tab title to add more apps and tabs.

⭐ New! You're undoubtedly familiar with file and folder structuring (in your OS and other software), and now we've brought them to the browser too!  Tab folders allow you to organize your tabs in the webdock and keep everything tidy and easier to find. Here's how they work:

• To create a new folder: right-click on a tab and select 'Add tab to new folder'. Right-click on the folder to name it. You can also change the color of the folder icon.
• To add another tab to the folder: right-click on the previous tab and select 'Add new tab below'.
• Drag & drop tabs to reorder them in a folder or move to a different folder.
• Folders in folders are supported (but do get 😵‍💫 cluttered after a while).
• To use folder tabs in the tabstrip: switch back to the List layout. Note that tab folders do not display in the tabstrip - you will just see all your tabs together.

Groups are spaces in the webdock for you to bring resources together and create workflows. They are your go-to place for key tools, and to complete regular tasks. They can include unlimited apps and tabs, and have customizable features like sleep, unread badges, and notifications. And now, we've made groups even more flexible and easier to create:

Click on the + icon in the webdock to create a new group in the webdock. It will instantly appear and open in the main window, then...

1. Choose a cookie profile - the primary container is selected by default. Use the dropdown to use another container you have setup.
2. Add an app - click to launch the App Directory to choose an app or paste in a web link.
3. Add a tab - click to start browsing using a tab in the tabstrip.  Right-click on any tab to boost it into an app or a group.  You can also right-click anywhere in the main window to open a new tab, and to create a new app or group.

It's now easier to change how your groups and apps look. Right-click on any icon to bring up the revamped context menu:

• To edit the name: Click in the box and enter your new text, then hit return to save it. Tip: Having better titles will keep things tidy and help with your search results.
• Change group color: Choose a color, or click the palette icon to enter RGB.
• Change the icon: Click the icon to reveal a pop-up with three options: (1) Use the app's default icon (2)  upload your own icon, and (3) create an icon using the generator, which is powered by the mighty 😍FontAwesome.

Hover over any app to see updates to the tooltip menu. We've changed how they look a little and have also renamed a few things:

1. 🚀 Unreads - A list of new items for that app (see below for 'App Previews')
2. Saved items - the new name for 'Pins' in tooltips. (Pins are now tabs that are saved to the tabstrip as in Chrome) Did you know you can drag saved items to rearrange them in the menu, and also specify where you want them to open? Just click on the pencil icon to make changes to your saved tab.
3. History - the new name for 'Recents' (recently visited pages). Hover over any title and click on the ribbon icon to save it in the menu.
4. Tabs - a list of tabs open in that app
5. Edit title - Click on the title to edit it directly in the menu.

We've added some extra functionality to the tooltip menus for some apps including our integrated apps.  Now you can see what's new, and jumpstart a task, without even clicking on the app itself.

• 🚀 Unreads - A real-time list of important items displayed at the top of the tooltip menu. For example, for Gmail, it shows unread emails; for Freshdesk it shows new tickets. Just click on an item to get to the app.
• 🚀 Fast Actions - a powerful link that begins an action, such as creating a new document or spreadsheet.  For example, for Gmail, there's an action for 'New Email'; and for ClickUp, you'll find an action for 'New Project'.
• Tooltip Settings - if the fast actions aren't for you, you can switch them off by going to Settings > General > User Interface > Tooltips > Show Fast Actions in Tooltips.

A fresher, cleaner-looking toolbar now sports a new + menu. Click on the + icon in the tabstrip to open a new tab. Or you can now hover over the + icon to see four new actions:

• New Tab - just clicking on the + icon will open a new tab, or you can click on the 'Add new tab' option in the menu.  Don't forget you can add a new tab at any time using the keyboard shortcut: ⌘ T (mac) or alt T (pc).
• Add another app - open the App Directory to find an app or paste a weblink.
• New Smart Note - create a new note for the current page.
• Create a Workspace - quick link to create a new workspace.

Navigator is our unique, real-time, interactive map of everything that's active in your Wavebox. Click on the compass icon top-right to launch the Navigator for a snapshot of your web world and to manage your CPU.

If your Wavebox seems to be slowing down, then Navigator is your first port of call - you can quickly sleep or close any tab that's gobbling resources. New options in this version of Navigator include:

• List layout - Click on the List layout button at the top of Navigator to see all your active tabs with handy little performance graphs for CPU and Memory consumption. You can sleep and close any apps/tabs that are gobbling memory directly from here. Use the icons top-right to sort the list; most recently used tabs, alphabetical, memory usage, and CPU usage.
• Your Wavebox Stats - On the right-hand side of the List view you'll see your personal Wavebox stats, showing how much time you've spent in each app and other fascinating numbers.
• Search Box - Use the new search field at the top of the Navigator to zoom in on an app for more details.  In Grid View, this will zoom in on the tab thumbnail.

Click on the List Layout button at the top of Navigator to see all active tabs with handy little performance graphs for CPU and Memory consumption. You can sleep and close any apps/tabs that are gobbling memory directly from here. Use the icons top-right to reorder the list:

• Most recently used tabs
• Alphabetical
• Memory usage
• CPU usage

Smart Notes work in Wavebox like a Chrome extension.  The Smart Notes icon is always visible next to your other extension icons, so you can click on it to create a note for any app/tab you're working in.  If there's a Smart Note for a page you're on, you'll see a notification badge on the Smart Note icon.

And now you can add Smart Notes as an app via the App Directory, meaning you can access all your notes from the main window (and secondary windows) and the pop-out window. This is useful for copying/pasting content and using Smart Notes in split-screen.

Coming Soon: Following user requests, we've also added support for images in Smart Notes, so when you highlight and copy a section on any page, the images will be pasted into the notepad alongside the text.

Our aim with this update is to make Wavebox slicker and smoother so you can work faster and be more productive than ever. The result includes a mix of awesome design and usability improvements and time-saving new features.  Here are some general changes to keep an eye out for:

• Rounded corners: for windows and tabs. These can be toggled on and off: Settings > UI > Rounded corners & shadow around webviews > Toggle ON or OFF.
• New drag & drop: drag tabs from the toolbar straight into the webdock (when using List layout).
• Tab Count Badge (gray): Shows a count for the number of  tabs in an app or group. These can be toggled on and off: Settings > Tabs & Windows > Show Group & App Tab Counts > Toggle ON/OFF
• Layout & text edits: subtle changes to context and tooltip menus.
• Sleeping icons: new opacity to sleeping icons and tabs.
• Titlebar actions: Choose in Settings which icons you want to appear in the titlebar.
• Copy URL Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+C or Ctrl+Shift+C.
• Right-click copy URL: Right-click any tab and select 'Copy URL' to use it again later.

😍🙌 A big thank you to everyone who suggested new features and helped us to test UI2!  If you have any feedback on this update, or have new feature suggestions or just want to say hi, please contact us on support@wavebox.io.

If you love the new update, please share on your socials @waveboxio.  Thanks!