Multiple windows and browser sessions

These changes are being prepared for an upcoming Desktop release. They are not available in the currently published installer.

Work in another window

Choose File → New window. In Desktop, the native shortcut is Command+Shift+N on macOS or Control+Shift+N on Windows and Linux. The windows share one local Grid runtime. Each has its own selected model, editor draft and workbench layout. Closing one window leaves the others running. Grid asks before closing a window with unsaved changes.

Another window uses memory for its own interface and subscriptions. It shares the existing calculation and AI services. Storage ownership is checked at startup or when opening storage; those checks do not run during calculation.

Opening Desktop again normally brings its existing window forward. Use File → New window to open another workbench. If the existing app is unresponsive, Grid reports the problem instead of starting another writer against the same data directory.

Opening a workspace folder (File → Open Workspace Folder...) that is already attached to another Desktop window brings that window forward. Workspaces in the shared Home library remain visible to all windows. If two sessions edit the same model source, Grid rejects a save based on an older source version and preserves the local draft for review. This does not automatically merge two people's edits. If a copied document folder has the same identity as another open folder, Grid refuses the copy instead of sending its changes to the original. Close the original document or import its models into a new document first.

For example, open a revenue forecast in one window and an expense model in another. Reload either window: its own draft and selected model remain there. If the restored draft differs from the saved model, Grid asks you to review it. Choose Keep local draft to retain your edits, then use Save when ready to replace the saved source. Reloading alone never sends that draft over another session's changes. A direct model URL restores a draft only when it belongs to that same model and folder. Unsaved window state uses session storage; closing a tab or quitting the app is not a durable archive save. Use Save to retain work before closing.

Browser windows connected to Server

Multiple browser tabs or windows can connect to one Grid Server, including a Linux server. They share its calculation services and models. Each tab has separate draft and restoration state. The source-conflict behavior is the same as Desktop. Shared preferences, such as named folders, remain shared in the same browser profile.

Opening another browser does not start another Grid Server. Independently running servers must use separate writable storage and distinct node identities. A different HTTP port alone is insufficient. Startup rejects duplicate node identities and overlapping folders, including one instance's folder inside another instance's folder. Document-folder writers use the same ownership checks.

Shared application actions

AI setup, credentials, Package Center jobs and extension activation belong to the application. Desktop continues to support one active extension workspace at a time. Another window does not create a separate extension environment.

Close the other workbench windows and save changes before installing an update. An update request that is refused leaves the runtime and other windows running.

To check without restarting Grid, choose Help → Check for Updates… in the application, or search for Check for Updates in Search Grid. On macOS, the native menu also offers Grid → Check for Updates…; Windows and Linux use the native Help menu. These controls and the background behavior below are being prepared for the next Desktop release. They are absent from browser, mobile and development sessions.

Grid checks quietly at startup and once an hour while open. When an update is available, an Update button appears near the bottom of the left sidebar. Compact navigation keeps an update icon at the top left. Returning from sleep triggers a check if the previous check is overdue. Background checks do not open a dialog or download the update.

The check shows progress, confirms when Grid is up to date, or explains a failure with Try again. For example, choose Later to keep working: the sidebar button stays available. Click it to check again and review the current update. Nothing downloads or installs until you choose Update and relaunch. Cancelling a check dismisses its result; repeated checks share an unfinished request. A background connection failure leaves any known update visible and retries at the next hourly check.

Document ownership cannot be taken from a live writer with force unlock. That option is for leftover document metadata after the owner has stopped. Do not delete ownership files to get around an active instance.

Older Grid versions do not participate in the new process-ownership protocol. Close those versions before starting this version against the same data. These protections apply to Grid processes running under the same computer account and using local storage. They do not coordinate separate computer accounts, other software, or shared network drives. Do not move storage folders while Grid is using them; ask your administrator to configure separate servers.

If startup reports a storage conflict, close the competing instance or ask your administrator to correct the storage configuration, then restart Grid. Do not delete ownership files to bypass the conflict.