as a user, I'd like a way have a different default layout or at least order the panes for actual work

This is not a top priority, but I do think it is a papercut for me, would love feedback if it is for others to see if it is bothersome.

I understand why the default layout has a split console / report preview, but we don't have a good way of letting users do work with a layout they'd prefer without clicking and dragging every time a notebook loads. I, for instance, usually just want to work with the console itself for a big chunk of time until I'm ready to make a report.

Right now, every time I load a notebook, I have to click and drag panes in the way I want. if I end up reloading the page for some reason or close the window, I have to do that again. It feels like a really heavy UX interaction to me - at least, I feel pretty annoyed when I have to reorder the panes by clicking and dragging things each time.

Everyone is going to have a different preference regarding this dynamic, and that's to be expected with a tool like this. I think there are probably a few ways to go about making this easier:

(1) for each notebook, save a users' last accessed layout, so if I jump back into a notebook later, it has the view I want, not the default one.
(2) have some small dropdown on the top right (under the toolbar) that lets me click, pick a different layout, and I get that layout. The three-paned default view could be one, as well as an "editor on one side, everything else on the other w/ console selected on start", and maybe the same as the previous one but report view. It might be a lot easier for users to click twice than click and drag to get what they want.

Ideas and feedback welcome on this.

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points; first clarify whether the goal is per-notebook layout persistence, selectable layout presets, or both. Review the existing notebook pane layout behavior, then define done as reopening a notebook with the chosen layout or selecting a documented alternative without repeated dragging.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.