Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!

Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Default to open folder in new window?

Previous versions of the Mac OS defaulted to opening folders in a new window. In 10.13 it is necessary to do a right click and choose new window. This is very hard to adjust to after 35 years of just double clicking. I cannot find an option to default to always open folders in a new window. How is this done?

iMac 27", macOS 10.13

Posted on Dec 12, 2019 12:40 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 12, 2019 4:14 PM

If you have that setting unchecked, then just right-click on a folder and select the "Open in a new Window" option. You can also hold down the command key and double-click a selected folder.


Don't know exactly when this changed, but that's the way it works now.


Good luck...

8 replies

Dec 12, 2019 4:00 PM in response to BDAqua

That is already unchecked. The issue is not that the folder opens in a new tab. It is that the folder opens in the SAME window. In other words, the contents of the current window are replaced by the contents of the folder that is opened. So instead of having the original window still open and a second window showing the contents of the folder that was being opened, there is only one window that now has the contents of the folder just opened. I don't want the window of containing the folder to go away. I want to have both folders open. This was the way Mac OS worked from 1984 until one of the more recent versions of OS 10.

Dec 12, 2019 6:49 PM in response to dot.com

That is what I do, but that is usually after I have automatically double clicked the folder, then backed up to do the right click. I have used the Mac since January 1984, so the double click is very automatic for me. I also wonder why Apple thinks a user would not want a folder to automatically open in its own window. Would love to find a utility to fix this (or for Apple to undo the change).

Dec 14, 2019 10:06 AM in response to jjuneau

What is the last version of macOS that you were able to simply double-click and have a new window open?


I just tried this on some older macOS versions -- Mountain Lion (macOS 10.8) which came out in July 2012 and it works that way, but it seems to have changed with Yosemite (macOS 10.10) which came out in Oct 2014, so looks like this change has been around quite a while, so not sure if it was Mavericks that changed the behavior or if it was Yosemite that started behaving this way. Anyone else notice when this change occurred?


Good luck...

Dec 14, 2019 10:36 PM in response to dot.com

The last version of the OS that was both convenient to use and included friendly and capable apps was 10.6.8. I still have that on one computer so that I can use iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. And of course the double click action opens a folder in a new window. Changing to OS 10.7 (a downgrade in my opinion) caused me to lose the ability to run various valuable programs and wiped out my browser bookmarks. On my everyday computer I have OS 10.13.6 and don't plan on moving "up" any time soon. I am learning to live with its inconveniences. (It also rearranges the icons in my main hard drive window occasionally. Very frustrating.)


PS- At my age and having used the Mac since 1984, 2014 was not quite awhile ago; more like last week to me.

Default to open folder in new window?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.