Suggestion: Option to open Prefab in New Tab rather than Prefab Mode

Hi!,

I just watched the Unite Los Angeles 2018 "Technical Deep Dive into the New Prefab System" talk and have some ideas.

I'm currently developing my first Unity game using Nested Prefabs and it seems to work very nicely.

I think Steen mentioned this during the Q&A already, but a suggestion I have is that, currently when you edit a Prefab it goes into 'Prefab Mode' replacing the current scene that is being edited in the in the Scene tab in Editor.

I would like to suggest that instead of replacing the contents of the Scene tab, there is also an option to open Prefabs in new tabs.

The hierarchy and inspector would then only show the one for the currently selected Tab.

Keeping a Prefab open in a Tab will allow to:

• Keep its Undo/Redo state. (Undo/Redo state should be separate for each Tab) So this would fix the issue of not being able to undo changes on Prefab after exiting Prefab Mode.
• Allow putting Prefab window next to Scene window or other Prefab window (side-by-side). So that when you edit the Prefab, you can immediately see its changes in the context of the Scene or other Prefab that it is nested in.
• Reduce time wasted having to "drill down" or locate Prefab in Project file browser. For example if you are working on a Prefab 2-3 levels deep and you need to make constant changes to it while also adjusting other things such other GameObjects in the scene and other Prefabs, in the current workflow you have to keep drilling down and then back up many times, OR you have to locate the different Prefabs you are working on in the Project file browser. This wastes a lot of time and brain cycles. Instead, if you can keep the main Prefab(s) you are working on open, you will be able to quickly and instantly make edits by switching to them. If you click to edit a Prefab that already has a tab open for it, then it would activate that tab for you.

I think this would greatly improve workflow.

 

This is covered in the FAQ (https://forum.unity.com/threads/faq.536647/) in the entry "Can we get the ability to simultaneously have a Scene view in Prefab Mode and one that shows the scene(s)?"

 

I see, thanks!