[VS] Support different pinning/follow modes for separate tab groups

[Chuxel]

Currently Visual Studio Code supports having different pinning / follow mode states for each tab set in split view. This is useful when you want to look at one file while following another or simply take notes or pull up contents in a local file while you watch them as either the host or the guest.

Visual Studio supports separate tab groups with similar capabilities to split view in VS Code, but the pin/follow support is not currently present in VS. Add an upvote (👍) reaction if you'd like to see this added to VS as well.

[ncarandini]

The ability of continuously following someone in a split view while working on another file is a cool feature that I do think is extremely useful.
My first impression (but I need to experiment more because I'm still a first time user on VS Live Share) is that in VS Code we need to be also able to pin by user and that this is now done indirectly, by pinning the split view were the user we want to pin is working and we see him.
So, at the end of the day, I think we need both:

• Visual Studio needs the split view pinning that is already present in VS Code
• VS Code needs to have the user pinning mode that is actually available in Visual Studio.

I've also an idea on how to implement the UI for the user pinning on VS Code, and I'll post here a UI mockup ASAP.

UPDATE:

I did experiment with three users and discovered that I was wrong. See next comments and my final feedback.

[Chuxel]

@ncarandini Actually, VS Code does support per-user pinning. If more than one user is in the system, when you click on the pin icon it will ask you who to pin to. It just does not prompt if there is only one participant. Happy to hear your thoughts, but FYI on that point.

[ncarandini]

Yes, you was quicker than me, as I was back here to change my comment but you already replied :-)
I've done some experiments and you're right, in VS Code it's all set.
But still I have two feedback:

• I'd like to see the pinned sign (only when pinned) also on the unfocused split view(s), but I don't know if it's technically feasible in VS Code itself.
• I'd like that after jumping to a participant's location on the (active split) view, the pin is automagically pinned on that participant (i.e. jumping triggers pinning). Maybe it's me, but it was confusing that after jumping to a user location, the split pane wasn't pinned on that user, and pinning seemed to me as a repetition and a buggy feeling experience.

The cool thing is that I successfully opened two instance of VS Code and one of VS 2017 and shared from one instance of VS Code and joined from the other two, all on my PC. That way I've experimented with three users and discovered that VS Code does support per-user pinning, as you pointed me.
Well done, you're all doing a fantastic job!

[lostintangent]

Closing this for now, since we haven’t heard significant user feedback, and we’ll revisit this experience once we revisit our holistic follow experience in the next couple of months.