How do I turn off this..."feature"... in MacOS?

Ok, this is getting tiring.


How do I turn off the ..."feature"... of having preview open documents or images UNDERNEATH the open Finder window. I know this is a ..."feature"... Apple thinks we can't live without, but how do I turn this off forever?


MacOS Sequoia 15.6.1

Posted on Dec 15, 2025 8:45 AM

Reply
6 replies

Dec 15, 2025 9:53 AM in response to mattfromindy

The Preview app will show the "Open File" dialog (Finder) if there's nothing already opened when you open Preview.

If there's another file already opened it should not pop up the "Open File" dialog.


You can stop this behavior by going to System Settings ➜ Apple Account ➜ iCloud ➜ Drive ➜ Apps Syncing to iCloud ➜ Preview and uncheck it.


Now, don't ask me why this is the setting that controls that option, but it does.


Credit to @dialabrain here: Stop Preview.app opening 'Open' dialog bo… - Apple Community


How do I turn off this..."feature"... in MacOS?

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