Cannot start different PDFs on different desktops


  1. Posts : 7
    Windows 10 Build 9926
       #1

    Cannot start different PDFs on different desktops


    This is a possible glitch. I want to have two desktops with a different PDF loaded on each one. When I try to load the second PDF on the 2nd desktop, it switches back to Desktop 1 and opens the PDF there instead.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #2

    You're going to have be more specific. What software are you using? What do you mean by "Desktop"? Do you mean the Virtual Desktops feature? Are you talking about desktop apps or Modern apps?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 17,838
    Windows 10
       #3

    jgradyc said:
    This is a possible glitch. I want to have two desktops with a different PDF loaded on each one. When I try to load the second PDF on the 2nd desktop, it switches back to Desktop 1 and opens the PDF there instead.
    Not sure of what applications you are using, but here's how to do it using Microsoft Reader and 'Task View' desktops:
    (Kind of a pain but doable!)

    Cannot start different PDFs on different desktops-000044.pngCannot start different PDFs on different desktops-000045.png
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 7
    Windows 10 Build 9926
    Thread Starter
       #4

    jgradyc said:
    This is a possible glitch. I want to have two desktops with a different PDF loaded on each one. When I try to load the second PDF on the 2nd desktop, it switches back to Desktop 1 and opens the PDF there instead.
    I'm using Reader in Windows 10 Build 9926 with (I think) the latest updates. I open the programs I want (a browser... Chrome) and then open the PDF I want on one desktop. Then, I click Task View, Add Desktop, and then click on the new, empty desktop. Next, try to open a PDF on that desktop, but it opens on the first desktop, replacing the program I had open on Reader. The second desktop remains empty.

    I can open Excel, Word, and browsers on both desktops... just not PDFs. I've found a work-around so I'll not worry about this.

    Oh, I also tried Edwin's approach. It works. It's a bit nonintuitive and around your elbow to do it, but it does work. Thanks.
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  5. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #5

    It would be nice if there were a setting "Open files in new instance by default on different desktops", but the problem with the concept of "intuitive" is that different people intuit things differently.

    Some people would intuitively understand that Reader is a multi-document application, and would expect when you open a new pdf when you already have one open, it would switch to the desktop that was already running Reader and load it there. Why waste the memory of loading two instances of the application by default?

    Others, like you, would expect that it would open a new instance on the current desktop. You can't make it do both without annoying everyone with prompts asking what to do every time.
      My Computer


 

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