Groupy

Groupy, from Stardock Software, lets you organize programs in browser-style tabs – much like Microsoft’s delayed Sets feature. It might sound like a recipe for chaos when you have multiple browser windows and documents open at once, but (as its name suggests), Groupy has a trick up its sleeve, letting you gather related tabs together in convenient collections.

Groupy offers an impressive range of customization options. You can choose how your tabs are positioned (either combined with the titlebar, or positioned above it), whether a close button should be displayed on all tabs or just the active one, whether to display the window icon on tabs (with customizable colors), and whether tabs should extend across the full width of the window. 

Once you’re happy with your setup, simply toggle Groupy on and you’re ready to start making tabs.

Growing groups

To start creating a set of tabs, simply open two windows, grab one and drag it over the title bar of the other. 

Rearranging tabs in Groupy is a simple matter of dragging and dropping, and to collect tabs in a group, simply drag one on top of another. In the unlikely event that you find yourself grouping tabs together accidentally when trying to move them, you can also set a condition that the Shift or Control key must be pressed, or that both mouse buttons must be held when tabs are moved.

Groupy won’t duplicate the tabs from your web browser, which makes sense – you would probably want them all grouped together anyway. If you do want webpages in separate tabs within Groupy, simply drag the tab out of your browser to turn it into a new window, then drag it over the original window’s title bar. It sounds confusing, but it’s intuitive once you try it.

It’s also possible to restrict the type of windows that can be grouped together, limiting groups to a particular program (ideal for keeping different document types apart), or preventing certain applications from being grouped. Also, while Sets is based around Edge, Groupy is browser-agnostic and lets you create tabs for any programs at all.

One of Groupy’s best features is the ability to save custom groups of applications. If you always start your day by launching the same set of applications – web browser, word processor, email client and calendar, for example – this could be a real time-saver.

Developer Stardock Software offers a 30-day free trial of Groupy, after which you can decide whether it’s worth the US$9.99 (about £7.50, AU$13.50) investment. If you only use web apps on your PC then Groupy will be surplus to requirements, but for everyone else it’s well worth a look.

• Check out our guide to the best web browsers of 2018

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