macOS - Multiple windows
It would be incredibly helpful if Blender on macOS supported opening multiple independent windows, each running a separate instance of Blender—just like how apps like Pages or Numbers allow multiple documents open at once.
For example, by right-clicking (or control-clicking) the Blender icon in the Dock and selecting “New Window,” it would launch a new instance of Blender where I can work on a different project file. Ideally, when opening a file this way, it would open in a separate window rather than replacing the existing one.
This would be especially useful for multitasking and comparing projects side by side.
Is there any chance this feature could be added in a future update? Would anyone else find this useful?
6 Comments
Blender, at least on Windows and Linux, has something like this already. In top left with the blender icon, there's "File", "Edit", "Window" and "Help" dropdowns. In the "Window" dropdown, there's "New Window", which makes what's basically an extra container for editor panels, and "New Main Window" where you can open a different scene in the same project file (but not a different project file) at the same time.
I assume this is a feature on MacOS too?
Although, those new windows live in the same Blender process, which has its advantages (edits made with one window show up in all other windows immediately) and disadvantages (it's still a single session, so you can only have one project file open with that).
But yeah, buttons like "Open in new session" on projects would be neat to have too.
Funnily enough, Blender does have something like that, but specifically for assets in the asset library. If you right-click one and press "Open Blend File", it spawns a whole separate Blender instance instead with the project file of the asset you right-clicked.
... which I think is the behavior being asked for here.
My current solution for this on macOS is to activate the Blender binary from the command line. Convenient enough for me... but admittedly, not the best user experience out of the box 🙂
Yes, exactly! That’s totally what I meant! On macOS, I’d love for it to work like on Windows, where opening a .blend file launches a new instance instead of replacing the current one. Thanks for sharing your tip! I’ve been doing the same in the meantime, but yeah, it’s not something I can hook into the right-click menu or the Dock, and it doesn’t help when I just double-click a .blend file.
If what you want is instances that can open different projects and not just new window on the same project, it would greatly help your proposal to edit it and reword it that way and remove any possible confusion.
I can't test whether it works on Mac, but making new windows has been a feature in Blender for a while:
Topbar ⟩ Window Menu - Blender 4.4 Manual
If it doesn't work, maybe report it as a bug using the menu Help ⟩ Report A Bug.
Thank you so much for your tip! Unfortunately, it's not quite what I meant. Though what you’re describing does work. What I’m hoping for is a new instance of Blender when I open a new .blend file or start a fresh project, not just relaunching the same file in a new instance. Still, I really appreciate your response. It could definitely help in other cases!