PyCharm configuration

So I have been using PyCharm for a while, I suddenly decided to dig into the configuration and see if I can improve my work flow some more. I’m already using the “New UI (beta)” option, which makes the layout a lot simpler, a bit like VSCode actually. I like this because it makes navigating with shortcuts a bit easier.

One of the pain points I set out to fix was: I get lost in my tabs, especially if I am refactoring code and have lots of tabs open.

Here is the flow I landed on:

• Preferences | Editor | General | Editor Tabs | Appearance | Show tabs in: -> Multiple rows
  • When using an external monitor, having multiple rows of tabs can help me quickly find the tab I need.
• Preferences | Editor | General | Editor Tabs | Tab Order | Sort tabs alphabetically → True
  • Sorting tabs in a deterministic manner can also aid in quickly locating the desired tab. I even pin tabs that I’m actively working on.
• Preferences | Editor | General | Editor Tabs | Appearance | Show file extension → False
  • Since PyCharm displays a file type icon to the left of the file name, I don’t need to see the file extension, which saves a few pixels. I still want to see my file extension in my file browser, though.
• Preferences | Editor | General | Editor Tabs | Appearance | Show pinned tabs in a separate row → True
  • If I’m working on 1-2 main files per window split, pinning those files keeps them at the top of the tab list and prevents them from getting lost among the other tabs.

In addition to tab management, I’ve found some useful window management settings too.

Given my wide 32-inch monitor display, I like to put tools like the terminal, run, and python console tools on the right panel instead of the bottom panel. However, the bottom panel still takes up the full width of the screen when opened, which is overkill.

Thankfully, I discovered that this can be fixed by setting Preferences | Appearance & Behavior | Appearance | Tool Windows | Widescreen tool window layout → True. This makes the right panel take priority over the bottom panel, leaving more space for coding.

Overall, these settings have greatly improved my PyCharm workflow and I hope they can help other developers as well.