New Finder Window Menu Option

Am I correct in understanding that you want to open Finder items in new windows instead of a new tab within an existing window? I had that problem. Very annoying.

This was my fix, which took me an unnecessarily long time to find:

1. System Settings --> Desktop & Dock
2. Scroll down to 'Windows" (below Dock, Desktop & Stage Manager, and Widgets — in that order).
3. Set "Prefer tabs when opening documents" to "Never"

This solved it for me. Now when I doubleclick any item in the Finder, it opens in a new Finder window, as it logically should.

It appears that upgrading to Tahoe defaults the setting to "Always," which stupidly supersedes deselecting the Finder setting "Open folders in tabs instead of new windows," which is where that setting used to—and should—live exclusively.

Hey Apple! Why do we have the same setting in two different places, one of them buried, that disables the other? Seems to me that two different parts of the UI team need to get their stories straight as far as where this setting lives from now on.

Put it in Finder Settings, where it belongs exclusively.

Come on Apple, get your act together! We expect better…

Have you tried the steps I outlined in my above post with the System prefs screenshot? What do you see in your System settings under Desktop & Dock?

Changing the Window finder tabs preference to “never” should enable the “open in new window” option, if not make that the default Finder action.

Try it, then reboot, and double-check the setting is still “never” just to be sure.

And you are certain, when you do that, that you're in the Finder. Check the left-most menu item.

The next step I'd try is rebooting in Safe mode. Test it out. Then reboot back in normal mode. If i it doesn't work in safe mode, that's very weird.

Start up your Mac in Safe Mode

IPadCurious wrote:

I get exactly the same with the New Finder window, etc, all greyed out.

I'm sorry. I meant command-n.

Why not?

What happens when you try?

What options have you tried?

You can get the "New Finder Window" option in a variety of ways:

From the Finder File Menu at the top, if you already have one Finder Window in focus or just have the Desktop in focus.

By right clicking (control+click or two finger click) in the Finder icon on the Dock and selecting "New Finder Window" or by clicking the command+n keys on your keyboard with a Finder Window or the Desktop in focus.

What happens when you command-click on any open area on the Desktop?

Who suggested a "double click"?

I suggested a right click, control+click or 2 finger click if using a trackpad.

With that said, the keyboard shortcut may appear as gray in the Finder File menu, but that does not mean the option is not available or disabled.

The New Folder option may be disabled if the current Finder Window is opened to a location where a new Folder can't be created, Like the "xxxx's Mac" location, but the New Window option should hardly ever be unavailable.