Workspaces
Save complete pane and tab layouts as named workspaces, switch between them in one click, and let Seiz quietly keep them up to date as you work.
What is a Workspace?#
A workspace is a saved snapshot of your Seiz window: how many panes you have, the split orientation, what folders are open in each pane, the tabs inside them, the view modes, the sort orders — all of it. You give it a name, an icon, and an optional color, and it shows up in the sidebar. Click it later and your whole layout snaps back exactly the way you left it.
Workspaces are useful when your day involves wildly different contexts: editing a video project needs a totally different layout than reviewing client invoices, which needs a different layout than dumping photos off your phone. Instead of rebuilding from scratch every time, you switch with one click.
Saving a Workspace#
Get your panes and tabs the way you want them, then press ⌃⌘S (or use the Workspaces menu). A small dialog appears: type a name (Seiz pre-fills today's date), pick one of 27 icons, and optionally pick one of 12 colors. Click Create. The workspace appears in the sidebar under Workspaces.
Color is optional — if you skip it, the icon takes the default sidebar tint. If you select a color, the same color shows up as a small dot on every tab that belongs to that workspace, so you can tell at a glance which workspace a window came from.
Switching Between Workspaces#
Click any workspace in the sidebar. Seiz rearranges panes, restores tabs, navigates to the saved folders, and restores view modes — usually instantly. The previously-active workspace gets quietly saved before the new one loads, so any small changes you made in the meantime aren't lost.
Auto-save means you don't have to remember to update
Manually Updating a Workspace#
If you want to capture a change immediately without waiting for auto-save, press ⌃⌘U or right-click the workspace in the sidebar and choose Update with Current Layout. The toast at the bottom confirms it saved. The workspace's name, icon, and color stay the same — only the layout gets refreshed.
Editing, Duplicating, Deleting#
Right-click a workspace in the sidebar for the full menu:
- Edit Workspace… — change the name, icon, or color. Doesn't change the layout.
- Update with Current Layout (⌃⌘U) — same as the keyboard shortcut.
- Duplicate — makes a copy with “ Copy” appended to the name. Useful when you want to fork an existing workspace for a related project.
- Delete Workspace — removes it. Doesn't touch your actual files in any way.
Drag workspaces in the sidebar to reorder them — useful if you have one or two you use constantly and the rest only occasionally.
Restoring on Launch#
Settings has a toggle for Restore last workspace on launch. With it on, Seiz remembers which workspace you had active when you quit and snaps back into it the next time you open the app. With it off, Seiz starts at a default home folder layout and you pick a workspace manually if you want one.
When Folders Disappear#
If a workspace points to a folder you've since deleted (or an external drive that's not currently plugged in), Seiz doesn't crash and doesn't silently skip — it falls back to your home folder for that tab and shows a warning toast listing which paths weren't found. The rest of the workspace restores normally.
Next Steps#
- Multi-Pane Layouts — Workspaces are most useful with multi-pane setups; learn the layouts first.
- Sidebar — where workspaces live alongside favorites and servers.
- Command Bar — switch workspaces by name from the keyboard.