Please fix multi-tasking!

[ammarmalik2011]

This issue has been around since multi-tasking was introduced in Mango and I refuse to believe Microsoft isn't aware of it.

At ANY given time, ANY app should be allowed only ONE instance running in the multi-tasking menu! Microsoft limits it to 1 for 3rd party apps but lets their apps run wild! There are so many times when I have 8 instances of the SAME text conversation in the multi-tasking menu. Now you'll blame me for incorrectly closing it. Well my answer is screw that! You know for 'properly' closing it I'd have to press back two times? One back takes me to the threads, and the next back takes me to the start menu. The 'wrong' way is to just press start to take you to the start menu. But when I get a new text, and I press the toast notification, it will open ANOTHER instance of the SAME conversation. That should not happen. It should either go back to the old instance, or close that and open this new one.

Vote to have this fixed!

http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/f...pp-taking-multiple-slots-in-the-multitasking-

 

[Huime]

This issue has been around since multi-tasking was introduced in Mango and I refuse to believe Microsoft isn't aware of it.

At ANY given time, ANY app should be allowed only ONE instance running in the multi-tasking menu! Microsoft limits it to 1 for 3rd party apps but lets their apps run wild! There are so many times when I have 8 instances of the SAME text conversation in the multi-tasking menu. Now you'll blame me for incorrectly closing it. Well my answer is screw that! You know for 'properly' closing it I'd have to press back two times? One back takes me to the threads, and the next back takes me to the start menu. The 'wrong' way is to just press start to take you to the start menu. But when I get a new text, and I press the toast notification, it will open ANOTHER instance of the SAME conversation. That should not happen. It should either go back to the old instance, or close that and open this new one.

those are windows, not app instants, u just screwed the way to jump out of an app, not wp's fault

 

[ammarmalik2011]

those are windows, not app instants, u just screwed the way to jump out of an app, not wp's fault

those are instances. Because if a game is on 7th on the multi-tasking window, and I open messages and don't properly quit and end up having 2 instances of messaging, the game will quit and I'll have to start it again. Why? Because the OS was't wise enough to let only one messaging instance show up in the multi-tasking menu.
WP multi-tasks in a very similar way to iOS and in iOS you dont get this multi-instance issue. So I hope MS resolves this soon.

 

[iamtim]

WP multi-tasks in a very similar way to iOS and in iOS you get this multi-instance issue.

That's incorrect. Regardless of how many messages you receive on iOS, there's only one instance of the Messaging app when the home button is double-tapped. Of any app, for that matter.

Other than that, yeah, I agree with you.

 

[ammarmalik2011]

That's incorrect. Regardless of how many messages you receive on iOS, there's only one instance of the Messaging app when the home button is double-tapped. Of any app, for that matter.

Other than that, yeah, I agree with you.

sorry I mean you DONT't get this issue in iOS. Typo.

 

[fardream]

those are windows, not app instants, u just screwed the way to jump out of an app, not wp's fault

Whatever the reason it I found it quite annoying too.

 

[iamtim]

sorry I mean you DONT't get this issue in iOS. Typo.

Oh. Heh.

 

[th0mas96]

"issue".. where's your problem with it? it's called "recent apps/tasks" for a reason, you can go back to the thing you did last. So, you can always go back to where you were before with one tap. It has a strict logic, and if you see it as an issue, well, it's intended behaviour

 

[ammarmalik2011]

"issue".. where's your problem with it? it's called "recent apps/tasks" for a reason, you can go back to the thing you did last. So, you can always go back to where you were before with one tap. It has a strict logic, and if you see it as an issue, well, it's intended behaviour

5 instances of the same conversation is intended?

 

[RuleOfSines]

Never noticed this before, but now that you described it I see what you're talking about. The messaging app is unique in its ability to have several conversations going at once as independent processes, maybe they found it was difficult for some reason to positively identify a conversation session. Or it got overlooked. I am curious how the logic is setup for storing and retrieving active conversations, seems like it would be wasteful to actually have multiple instances of the app in memory, rather than storing a few variables regarding the conversation state.

 

[Huime]

LOL One last time,they are windows not instants. Understand the OS before complaining non issue.

 

[decimus plancus]

Windows or instances, as a user, I don't care. They both use up one slot. I agree with the original poster, task switching in WP8 (and maybe earlier) is byzantine. I expect computers to remember state for me or even better, not expose state to me. Having multiple ways to leave an app makes it more complicated to use (how is it leaving the app when a call comes in?). I don't care but want to get back to what I was doing.

And what is with the "resuming....." or "loading...." messages when I resume a task. TMI.

 

[iamtim]

Yeah, I gotta side with the others here... windows or instances is a matter of semantics. And truth be told, calling them windows falls on its face when I can see 4 windows for a given single conversation in my "back-button-history" because I've hit the home button and used the toast notification each time. If it truly were a window, there would be only 1 for the whole conversation, just like MSN or AOL messenger on the desktop. So whether you want to call it a window or an instance or a history item, or Fred... it doesn't matter. It shouldn't work the way it works. In fact, I'd call that a bug.

 

[AngryNil]

This isn't new, it's been noted in other threads. Currently affected: IE, messaging, music. It has to be fixed. There's no logical reason to argue that you should be seeing the same conversation five times in the task switcher, and it prohibits the user from making full use of the heavily limited number of tasks that are kept in memory.

 

[socialcarpet]

I've never seen this. I wonder what you're doing differently than I am.

 

[th0mas96]

5 instances of the same conversation is intended?

it's not normal to interrupt writing a message, interrupting it 5 times and getting a new message by the same person., so I'd say yes.

 

[ammarmalik2011]

it's not normal to interrupt writing a message, interrupting it 5 times and getting a new message by the same person., so I'd say yes.

what on earth are you talking about? Where did I say I interrupt writing a message? I see a message and I press start to go home. I get another message, I press the toast, read it and then press start to go home again. This ends up taking two messaging slots in the multi-tasking menu.

 

[iamtim]

I've never seen this. I wonder what you're doing differently than I am.

This is where I've seen it:

When you get an SMS from someone, use to the toast notification to open it. Reply, then hit the home button. When they reply, hit the toast notification, reply, and hit home. Do that a few times, then long-press the back button. You'll see multiple windows/instances/whatever of that conversation, each from just before you pressed the home button.

 

[rockstarzzz]

Shouldn't this be on UserVoice? I'm sure this isn't a very widely discussed bug.

 

[fardream]

Shouldn't this be on UserVoice? I'm sure this isn't a very widely discussed bug.

It's not a bug - it's one of the stupid design decisions windows phone made during the development