Mojave Finder Tabs Reopen

That's not a solution, finder will be reseted after you shutdown/reset the computer.

I can't believe Apple remove this feature...

Also I feel like Finder is a bit laggy after upgrading to Mojave, maybe because its behaviour changed? or because of the blurry transparent background?

Finder behavior has definitely changed in Mojave!

In case you haven't found a solution, try the following.

Leave your Finder window open with all your preferred Tabs open.

Shut Down, make sure the box "Reopen windows when logging back in" is checked.

When you Start Up again, the Finder window will reopen with all your preferred Tabs.

I wasn't satisfied with this solution, but at least I don't have to reopen every Finder Tab I was working on after Restarting.

Hopefully it works for you.

Yeah. I meant that if an answer gets the most clicks on the "helpful" button, then it will be at the top of the discussion forum like it's the solution to the question. And then next to it you see the "Apple Recommended" icon. Look:

But saying "There is no setting to change it back" is not fixing the problem at all.

And later on in this thread, I found out that, from another user, that you can leave Finder open when you shut down your computer and then tick the "re-open windows" option. So then Finder will open with all the tabs that you had before.
I tried it, it works. It's all I wanted. A way for Mojave to remember my open tabs in Finder when I turn the computer on in the morning.
So that should be the "Apple recommended" answer, it's all I'm saying.

Agree. This was High Sierra behavior which has changed in Mojave when using red x button.

High Sierra:

• Red x button: restores all tabs
• Re-launch app or restart Mac: restores all tabs

Mojave:

• Red x button: doesn't restore all tabs; closes them
• Re-launch app or restart: restores all tabs

I doubt this behavior is intended

1. OS X remembered the tabs that were open and restored them with a click on the Finder icon in the Dock
2. It worked this way since Finder tabs were introduced in ~2013 (Mavericks), but they broke in Yosemite (~2014) when it also did not remember to save the tabs, just like it's failing in Mojave
3. Besides the workaround suggested in this thread RE: leaving the window open when you shutdown/restart,
4. I created an AppleScript workaround for myself in 2014 and saved it as an Application for easy one-click restoration of my Finder window setup. Happy to share since Apple has made it useful again.
5. The line near the end about setting "bounds of the front Finder window" needs to be adjusted for your screen. See explanation for the Bounds property: https://www.macosxautomation.com/applescript/firsttutorial/11.html

AppleScript:

1. Copy/paste the code block into Script Editor, modifying the paths as needed for your own tab setup
2. Save As & choose File Format of "Application"
3. Put it someplace accessible

Note, testing in Script Editor or running the Application for the first time will cause an error / permission prompt since Apple now requires apps get explicit permission to send System Events in Mojave. To fix:

1. Open Mojave's System Preferences - Security & Privacy
2. Authenticate with an administrator account
3. Click the "Privacy" tab
4. In the left sidebar, click "Accessibility"
5. In the box at the right, click the plus button and then add Applications - Utilities - Script Editor (and make sure the box is checked)
6. OS X will prompt you to grant access for the app to control other apps. Once granted it will be listed in the Privacy tab under Automation with a checkmark next to the items it now can access. Review the AppleScript below and you can see it does nothing shady or dangerous beyond opening the exact windows and tabs you want it to.

Notes:

if you need to open a tab to a folder located on an external but physically attached disk modify the location for the last command group or delete the group entirely.

I agree with all on this thread who've stated High Sierra behaves in this manner:

1. 1. have three Finder tabs open;
   2. mouse click Finder's red-circle-X to close it; or press cmd-q to close Finder completely;
   3. mouse click Finder dock icon;

4a. Finder opens a new window containing three tabs.

I, further, agree with all on this thread who've stated that the behavior of #4, above, is different in Mojave, e.g.:

4b. Finder opens a new window containing only on tab.

I've found a solution that appears, at first blush, to work for me in Mojave.

It comes to us courtesy of the user Eagle on apple.stackexchange.com:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/100433/finder-reopen-last-closed-window/100435

Eagle states:

• • Click on top-left Apple icon
  • Then click on System Preferences
  • Then General
  • And then uncheck the box saying, "Close windows when quitting an app"
  • It will save your session of Finder and when you restart your system it will show you last opened tabs of the session

This appears to work for me when I perform my original workflow, above, items 1-4a.

Note that it also appears to reopen the tabs to their prior directory/drive locations, if present.

I had not tested that behavior in High Sierra; so I can't speak to that whether it's consistent or not.

Further note that if a tab showed contents of a directory/drive that has been removed/unmounted between Finder sessions.

Finder simply does not open that tab; but opens all other previous tabs that it is able.

I've not tested how this System Preferences->General change effects, or afflicts, other applications from session to session.

So, as you'd surmise...YMMV.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

You can't say Finder behavior changed in Mojave. Using Alt-Option + mouse click on Finder and doing re-launch, Finder restores all the Tabs without any issue.

The bug/issue is when one uses the red x button to close Finder. Then nothing is restored

hgkjhbkjhlh wrote:

You can't say Finder behavior changed in Mojave. Using Alt-Option + mouse click on Finder and doing re-launch, Finder restores all the Tabs without any issue.

The bug/issue is when one uses the red x button to close Finder. Then nothing is restored

Actually I can. In High Sierra the Finder remembered Tabs when using the "red x button".

I am not sure what you are expecting.

Do you have a window with, say, 2 tabs, close it by clicking the red button, then what... File->New Window and expect to open with same 2 tabs? AFAICT it never worked that way, and I really don't think it would make much sense. There is a default for what new windows open at, and they are exactly that, new.

On the other hand, if you *quit* Finder, and restart it, it will, by default, reopen all windows and their respective tabs.

Please clarify.

FWIW, in High Sierra, if you closed a Finder window with open tabs, then clicked on the Finder icon, the finder window you closed would reopen with its tabs. If you chose New Finder window, it didn't.

Red X button should not close everything including the tabs and not restore them (hard reset/settings?). This is wrong. I have multiple tabs open and I use the red X button to sort of minimize the window instead of using the yellow button. Also to move it from one desktop to another. It is easier to use X button and open it in another desktop rather than using the moving option. Closing all the tabs every time that red X button is pressed is a hassle and creates tons of work to put back all the tabs. For now I keep Finder open all the time but I do hope this behavior is reverted back in future updates

hgkjhbkjhlh wrote:

Red X button should not close everything including the tabs and not restore them (hard reset/settings?). This is wrong. I have multiple tabs open and I use the red X button to sort of minimize the window instead of using the yellow button.

No, this is wrong. Minimize is one thing, close is another. When you close a window, it is discarded. When you minimize, you change its state. Totally different things. It makes no sense to try to force one to work as the other.

hgkjhbkjhlh wrote:

Also to move it from one desktop to another. It is easier to use X button and open it in another desktop rather than using the moving option. Closing all the tabs every time that red X button is pressed is a hassle and creates tons of work to put back all the tabs. For now I keep Finder open all the time but I do hope this behavior is reverted back in future updates

You can't move something that doesn't exist.

Closing a window closes all its tabs. That is it. Just like if you close just one tab, you can't move it anymore: it ceases to exist.

I also used to be able to use the red x button to close Finder and then when opening it again all my tabs would be back so I could carry on working where I left off. Shame that the finder behaviour changed in Mojave! Let me know if anyone finds a way to fix it! Cheers

The red button does not "close Finder", it closes a window.

If you quit Finder, and start it again, it will (depending on general settings) restore your windows. If you specifically close one window, it does not make sense to expect it will magically be back!

Sorry I'm only a basic computer user so have probably not used the right terminology. But before updating to Mojave if I had say 5 tabs open in one finder window and I clicked red x, after clicking the finder icon in Dock, all 5 tabs would launch back as I had left off. This only worked with multiple tabs in finder, if I closed one individual tab, I would not be able to relaunch the one tab. Hope there's a fix for this! Cheers