Can I open multiple books at the same time, or run more than one copy of Freda?

[Hamilton Burger]

I often read the same book in two or more languages at the same time, side by side. In Windows, I can do that using Firefox, Calibre, or Edge (you just tile the multiple windows side by side). But I want to use Freda because it has better features than those other options.

So: Is there any way in Freda to open more than one book at the same time or to run more than one copy of Freda simultaneously? If not, please consider adding that ability.

It's crazy to me that nobody seems to support this basic functionality--not Adobe DE, not Kindle, not Kobo--when most serious Windows applications, of all sorts, permit you to have multiple files open at the same time.

Thank you,
Steve

Opening multiple copies (instances) of the same app in Windows 10 has historically been problematic - specifically, it used not to work for 'Windows Universal Apps' (the type of app that is designed to be installed from the Windows Store).  A recent update to Windows (1803) does make it possible for apps to support it, and it is on my 'to do' list for Freda development in the coming months.  It will take a while because (1) I need to wait until most of my users are updated to 1803 (2) application activation is a tricky process, and changing the way that it works could break many things (for instance, OneDrive and DropBox sign-in, the 'position sync' logic, saving and restoring content, writing the log file ... ).

So it is on the list, and I will be looking at it ... but do not expect immediate results.

Great to hear that you're working towards a solution.

The UWP multiple-instance issues sound nasty, but what about multiple windows within a single instance of Freda? On cursory search I found this example of a multiple-file, multiple-window UWP app that was last updated in 2017, so pre the 1803 release: https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NBLGGH51JPM


I may be barking up the wrong tree with this example--I bet it's some sort of UWP wrapper around a standard application--but at least it suggests that multiple windows, each with its own file, might be possible. That app's interface is crude but workable, and if Freda did just that much I'd be happy and quite willing to set up my own 'tiled window experience.' But if Freda displayed child windows without their own toolbars and provided control of their arrangement on the screen, well that would be fantastic. I'd be glad to make more detailed suggestions and to do testing.

[I'm currently reading in parallel three different English translations of Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, plus translations in two other languages (but not in the original German, since I have none). On a larger screen I can achieve side-by-side views of all of these versions in calibre and in browsers, but only pretty crudely.]

Thanks very much for your work and for being so responsive.