Rig Mode and Record Mode Simultaneously

I was on break from CA for a few months.  In the previous version I used, my workspace was set up between two monitors and I had Rig and Record modes basically going at the same time.  No need to click in order to switch modes.  Now I'm back and on a different computer, so I'm in a newer version and don't have my previous workspace preferences.  It seems something has changed that I cannot recreate the layout I had before.  The simultaneous Rig and Record modes doesn't seem possible.  Was there a change in the way layouts are handled with regard to the two modes?