Microsoft plans to release a feature that it calls Sets currently in the next feature update for Windows 10. While it is not 100% certain that Sets will make an appearance in a few months -- the feature update will be released in September/October -- it is already possible to give this a try in recent Windows 10 Insider builds.

Note that Sets may not be enabled in all Insider builds by default. Sets introduces multi-tab support in applications on Windows 10. Different programs or instances of the same program may share a single window so that you may switch between them in the window, and change window states (e.g. minimize, close, or maximize).

Tabs are displayed in the title bar currently, and any new tab you add to the window -- either automatically or manually -- is added to that bar.

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Sets supports drag & drop to reorder tabs, snap a program window to another, or remove a program window from a window so that it is displayed on its own.

Sets is not an entirely new feature; while you may know it from browsers, programs like Stardock Groupy, TidyTabs, QTabBar, Tab Explorer, or Clover are already available (some for many years) add multi-tab functionality to windows as well.

It is unclear whether Sets will be enabled by default on Windows 10 when it launches or if users need to enable it. It is enabled in Insider builds if it is available.

Manage Sets in Windows 10

Microsoft added options to manage the Sets feature. We will update the guide if Microsoft changes preferences.

1. Use Windows-I to open the Settings application on the Windows 10 device.
2. Go to System > Multitasking.
3. Scroll down on the page that opens until you find the list of Sets preferences.

The Settings application lists three options right now:

• Define how websites and apps open by default (default: in tabs).
• Define what pressing Alt-Tab shows when you use the shortcut (default: show Windows and tabs)
• Add apps to the blacklist so that they open in their own program window all the time.

You can change the default opening method from websites and apps opening in tabs to windows. This blocks the automatic creation of window tabs on the device. For Alt-Tab, you can switch to windows-only so that only windows are displayed when you use the feature.

Blacklisting apps is useful if you want to make sure that certain programs are not opened as tabs on the device. Some, fullscreen games for instance, are not opened in tabs in existing program windows obviously.

A click on the "add an app" button displays the list of installed Windows Store apps and installed desktop programs. If the program is not listed, select "look for another app on this PC" to use the file browser to select a custom program on the system (useful for portable programs and any program not in the list of apps).