Force external app links to open in new Safari window (not a new tab in existing Safari window)

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Level 1

61 points

Force external app links to open in new Safari window (not a new tab in existing Safari window)

For many years and numerous versions of Mac OS this link opening issue has persisted: click a link in Mail (or other app) and Safari brings up some existing Safari window and adds a tab with the new link.

Is there a way to force external links to ALWAYS open in a new Safari window (and not a tab)?

There a General/Tab settings for link/window behavior from within Safari. I don't see how to control anything from external apps like Mail.

Ideally, this is a system wide setting so that all external apps open links in a new Safari window because I NEVER want random tabs opening in one of my existing Safari windows.

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WHY IT MATTERS

Why this annoys so much is that I run multiple Safari windows with project window clusters that remain open as I switch through them throughout the day. These are designated for certain purposes and randomly adding some webpage in a new tab of an unrelated project cluster breaks that logic. Still worse, this window often changes with no reason as to which will be the chosen window du jour.

SO MANY STEPS EACH TIME

I then have to mouse up and click a tiny tab rectangle and manually drag it out to an empty space (which can be hard to find if multiple Safari windows are arrayed on my screen, causing me to drag the tab at distance) AND THEN minimize the original window where it was. It's all these unwarranted steps WHENEVER I click a link in mail just to read some web page. If I don't do all this, then unrelated tabs accumulate in project cluster where they don't belong.

OBVIOUS SOLUTION FOR ALL

This is all remedied perfectly by always opening an external link in a new Safari window which seems completely obvious and normal for EVERY user.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Force external app links to open in new Safari window (not a new tab in existing Safari window)

MacBook Pro 14″

Posted on Nov 5, 2025 8:51 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

55,905 points

Nov 5, 2025 9:10 AM in response to sassy monkey

Safari menu > Settings > Tabs tab, set the option for 'Open pages in tabs instead of windows' to Never.

"Never: Links designed to open in new windows open in new windows." (from Use tabs for webpages in Safari on Mac - Apple Support).

That's the setting I use, and when I click a link in Mail or Microsoft Word, it opens in a new window.

Side note, the one thing that ignores that setting is moving a webpage from my iPhone via Handoff, which always opens it a new tab in the active Safari window; I personally don't use tabs at all, so in that case I secondary-click (control-click, two-finger click) on the tab title and choose the option to Move Tab to New Window. One step and done.

OBVIOUS SOLUTION FOR ALL

This is all remedied perfectly by always opening an external link in a new Safari window which seems completely obvious and normal for EVERY user.

I know people who love tabs, have only one browser window open (sometimes with a huge number of tabs), and for whom your suggestion would be anathema. Not EVERY user wants what you want.

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Answer 2

sassy monkey Author

Level 1

61 points

Nov 5, 2025 9:44 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Ugh, yes. That works. Thought for sure I'd tried that multiple times. Ty!

I still find it odd that anyone would want to willy-nilly open new pages in unrelated windows. Maybe if a user's needs are so basic that they only want a single Safari window open at any time.

Regardless, that setting allows for a few options so it seems to cover most bases. However, considering less advanced users, that setting description is wanting. It should be more clear about its effect in BOTH inter-Safari linking and from external apps (which it makes no reference to whatsoever). I think many would read "Open pages in tabs instead of windows: Never" and shy away from it, especially if they don't also know about Command-clicking within Safari (which I wager many novice users don't).

Anyhow, thanks again for the help.

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Answer 3

Nov 5, 2025 10:28 AM in response to sassy monkey

sassy monkey wrote:

...especially if they don't also know about Command-clicking within Safari (which I wager many novice users don't).

I use Command-Shift-click (opens the link in a new window behind the active window) many times a day in Safari.

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