Use tabs and windows

Desktop tabs keep ALLO work grouped inside the app

The desktop app has its own tabs and windows so you can keep several ALLO surfaces open without scattering them across browser tabs. You can keep a dashboard in one tab, a project in another, and a canvas in a third, then restore that layout after restart.

Desktop tabs are not separate accounts. They use the same signed-in ALLO session unless you sign out or switch accounts.

Availability

Open a new tab or window

Use the desktop app menu or keyboard shortcut to open a new tab. On macOS, use Command+T. On Windows, use Ctrl+T. New tabs open inside the ALLO desktop app.

Use a new window when you want a separate desktop window, usually for another monitor or a different work context. Shift-clicking some ALLO links can open a new app window, depending on the link type and current surface.

Switch tabs

Use the tab bar or keyboard shortcuts. On macOS, Command+1 through Command+8 switch to the first eight tabs, and Command+9 switches to the rightmost tab. On Windows, use Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+8 and Ctrl+9.

If you keep many canvas tabs open, name and organize work clearly in ALLO so the tab titles are recognizable. For dashboard-heavy work, use Dashboards overview and Use dashboard widgets to reduce how many tabs people need open at once.

Close tabs and windows

Use the close button on the tab or the standard shortcut. On macOS, Command+W closes the active tab. On Windows, Ctrl+W closes the active tab. If you close the last tab in a window, the window may close.

Closing a tab does not delete the canvas, dashboard, project, file, or comment. It only closes the local desktop view. If you closed something by mistake, reopen it from Home → Recent, Search, a link, or session restore if available.

Open links with browser-like gestures

Desktop supports familiar link gestures for many ALLO links:

External web links still open in your system browser. ALLO workspace links, dashboard links, and canvas links generally stay inside the desktop app when the app can handle them.

Canvas tabs

Canvas links can open as desktop app tabs. If the same canvas is already open, ALLO may focus the existing canvas tab instead of opening another duplicate. That keeps you from editing the same canvas in five places without realizing it.

For canvas-specific behavior, including sub-canvases and links from projects, see Open canvases in the desktop app.

Route tabs and canvas tabs

Some tabs show regular ALLO pages such as Home, Dashboards, Billing, or Search. Some tabs show canvas work. Back, forward, and refresh can behave slightly differently depending on what kind of tab you are using. For navigation details, see Use back, forward, and refresh.

If a tab seems to show stale data, refresh the tab before assuming work is missing. If the data is still missing after refresh, use When work looks missing.

Restore tabs after restart

The desktop app can restore windows, tabs, and canvas tabs after normal quit, app restart, or update. Restore is best-effort: if your permission changed, work was deleted, a link expired, or the app could not save the very latest local window state, a restored tab may not reopen exactly as before.

For details, see Restore tabs after restart.

Troubleshooting tabs and windows