Mavericks Finder - how default to "double click opens new window"?

I am old and set in my ways. I like having the Finder open a new window when I double click a folder. Since 1984 I've arranged Finder windows in positions and sizes that suit me and I have never seen any reason to change.


In Mavericks however there does not seem to be a way to default to, "double click opens new Finder window". My choices under Finder preferences are, open in the same window; or open in a tab. I don't care for either.


Does anyone know of a way to restore the traditional Finder behavior in Mavericks? Thanks in advance.

Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9), 18 GB RAM

Posted on Oct 22, 2013 5:54 PM

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547 replies

Nov 19, 2013 3:46 PM in response to Adam Woodhams

Terrible behavior, this opening in same window. I also like to keep my windows organised in MY way. with one hand on the Cmd-W and the other on the mouse, I can easily navigate through hundreds of folders. Now I have to move my mouse up and down the Back button or change my hand position to do a Cmd-bracket-left keystroke. The Cmd-double-click isn't a real solution or work-around. A preference shouldn't be that difficult, huh ?

Nov 19, 2013 5:32 PM in response to John Dorsey

I honestly didn't even know of the option to make double click "Open in new window." I was used to just pressing down command in order to open the folder in a new window. I was recently stuck in my windows partition for a month and it was infuriating that I couldn't do that (besides the collected infuriation of being on windows for a month). And now, once I found a fix and installed mavericks, I found that my cmd double click opens a new tab instead of a window. I wish apple would give me the option to cmd click to open a new window and ctrl click to open a new tab, sor something similar, in addition to the standard double click to open a new window like you guys are trying to.

Nov 24, 2013 6:25 AM in response to John Dorsey

Being a long time user of Mac and millions of folders, tabs is only a partial convience.

For me, Command Clicking with 2 hands is a huge waste of keyboard motion.

I found an easy option to fix this, but you must have STEERMOUSE installed or something similar to perform this method.


In Steermouse prefs panel, assign the Right Click (Secondary Click) to Double click + the Command key.

It is now a single mouse stroke (key press)) to open a folder in a new window, also when multiple folders are selected, it will open all of them individually. So far it doesn't seem to adversley affect opening a single file into an application with the same key stroke.

Nov 29, 2013 10:22 PM in response to John Dorsey

I love Apple, but I am bewildered about these "improvements" in Mavericks. Why are the needs of traditional and longstanding users being held in contempt? Why is it necessary to remove our ability to tweak the OS to our liking? This was always one of the key pleasures of being a Mac user.


Three reasons I will not upgrade to Mavericks:


1) Unable to restore 2D dock via a terminal command

2) Unable to restore Labels (within the Finder itself, not the same as "finder replacements" such as Total Finder)

3) Unable to double-click on a folder to open a new window (as a Mac user since 1987, I still can't believe I had to type that!)


The fact that Apple removed the ability to restore these features via terminal commands means that they stipped them out deliberately and will never bring them back again, no matter how much we beg them to. I do realize that tags required extensive modifications to the file management system and any restoration of the old style labels would probably be a cosmetic one at best. Until there are third party hacks to resolve these issues, there is no way I will "upgrade".


Since 2012 we have seen desktop Macs become (mostly) non-user-upgradeable, all taped and glued together like large iPads. Graphics cards are being downgraded into integrated graphics to save power. Optical drives are banished. Every major revision of OS X removes longstanding features, some of them dating back to OS 8 or earlier. It seems we are moving into a new era of disposable Macs that you need to replace every 2 years, running a dumbed-down OS X to appeal to the lowest common denominator.


There just isn't a market for traditional user who like to customize, upgrade and tinker with their Macs. We probably make up less than 1% of Apple's customer base, so there is no economic incentive for us to be accommodated anymore. I am resigning myself to the fact that OS X 10.10 will introduce garish iOS 7 style graphics, and within a few more years we'll probably see Intel being ditched for ARM processors, ruining OS X's compatibility with legacy x86 and Windows software. I am seriously wondering how far Apple is going to take things.. perhaps forcing me into becoming a Windows PC user.

Nov 29, 2013 10:34 PM in response to petermac87

I have already provided feedback to Apple directly through their website. I would like to think I am free to state my opinion on this discussion board. It is just my opinion that the removal of the "double-click to open a new window" features is a symptom of where the OS is headed in the long term.


If anyone disagrees with the substance of what I wrote, please feel free to respond in kind. It is merely my opinion as a long standing Mac user, based on my observations of Apple's OS design and hardware choices over the previous few years.

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Mavericks Finder - how default to "double click opens new window"?

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