How to open a second instance of Arduino IDE 2 on Mac OS

Development Tools IDE 2.x
1

Hello,
I have Arduino 2.3.4 running on MacOS 15.3.2 and a project with multiple .h files in tabs. I'd like to view 2 files simultaneously. Either side-by-side or different windows. How can I do this?

AI answer that did not work:

To "pop out" or detach a tab in Arduino IDE 2 on macOS, you can drag the tab from the tab bar and then release it to create a separate window.

Thanks,
Marcus

2

Hi @thegovernor. Arduino IDE does not have this functionality.

The Arduino IDE developers are tracking the task of enabling the functionality here:

If you have a GitHub account, you can subscribe to that thread to get notifications of any new developments related to this subject:

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3

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but just open a second sketch by any of the many methods. If what you meant is two seperate processes, then from the terminal the following should work but it isn't for me right now and I am sure it did before.
open -n -a /Applications/'Arduino IDE.app'

4

@thegovernor wants to view/edit 2 separate files in the same sketch but opening the same sketch twice is not possible using File/Open

The obvious way to do this is to open the sketch in the IDE and the other file in a separate editor

Using Windows it is possible to view/edit multiple file in the same sketch as follows

  1. Open the sketch in the IDE
  2. Use File Explorer to navigate to the sketch folder
  3. Right click on the .ino file
  4. Select Open With and choose the IDE

A second instance of the IDE will open which allows viewing/editing of multiple files in the same sketch

Whether this is possible using MacOS or whether it is a good idea I don't know

5

I suspect you were using Arduino IDE 1.x at the time it was working for you. Arduino IDE 1.x allows multiple application instances (at least on Windows, I haven't checked on macOS), while 2.x does not.

6

YES, I just tried opening two of Arduino 1.x on my Mac, and it worked!

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7

Thanks for the clarification. I will try installing VS Code along side to view the files simultaneously.

Sincerely,
Marcus

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