Pixelmator Pro reopens documents that have been closed before

Is something not working like it should? Let us know.
User avatar

2019-10-17 09:55:00

Hi there,

I'm new to Pixelmator Pro and not sure if this is a bug or if I'm too dumb. :smile:

Whenever I open Pixelmator Pro it also opens many images I've opened with it before in tabs (not all though). Even if I closed these images/documents before quitting the last time.

What am I doing wrong?

I did install the latest version and since buying Pixelmator Pro a few weeks ago, all I changed in the preferences was unchecking Import JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images. Could that be related?

Cheers
Daniel
User avatar

2019-10-17 10:01:24

Okay, I checked Import JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images again. Now after restarting, all the files did open again just as before. But when closing the tab I was asked Do you want to keep this new document “Untitled”?. I wasn't asked that when the import feature was turned off. I clicked delete for every file and after restarting another time none of the images were opened again. Now I unchecked Import JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images again and everything seems to be working as expected.

So the issue here is probably that if files that were imported don't get the Do you want to keep this new document “Untitled”? save dialog when switching off the import feature while those imported files are open.

Cheers
Daniel
User avatar

2019-10-17 11:43:33

Hey Daniel, this is a system setting actually, which you can find in System Preferences > General. There are two, in fact, called 'Ask to keep changes when closing documents' and 'Close windows when quitting an app'. I personally have both turned on and I think that's what you'd want to do too.
User avatar

2019-10-17 11:51:31

I have Ask to keep changes when closing documents deactivated and Close windows when quitting an app activated. And it says: When selected, open documents and windows will not be restored when you re-open an app. but Pixelmator did restore those windows after re-opening the app.
User avatar

2019-10-17 12:24:05

Did you select that option after quitting Pixelmator Pro with some open documents? If so, in order to not delete those documents inadvertently, they would be restored (because the option would have come into effect after closing any documents that were open until you enabled it).
User avatar

2020-10-23 14:11:42

by Andrius 2019-10-17 10:24:05 Did you select that option after quitting Pixelmator Pro with some open documents? If so, in order to not delete those documents inadvertently, they would be restored (because the option would have come into effect after closing any documents that were open until you enabled it).
Hello Andrius, this is sadly not helpful. I've been trying for half hour to open a clean Pixelmator Pro session without success. I had 26 windows open in the last session and Pixelmator Pro keeps reopening them all every time I start it up, eating up 1,5 GB of RAM right away. I even closed them all one by one, but they keep popping up at the next startup. The two settings in System Preferences → General have no effect whatsoever. I also tried starting Pixelmator Pro while keeping the shift button pressed, like Apple suggests here, but Pixelmator doesn't care. He really wants to keep keep opening those 26 windows!

This sounds hilarious but I'm next to desperate... I need to get work done. How the heck do I get a clean new session?

EDIT: for context, the session that keeps being restored is the one that I closed using the "export all" script you suggested me here. 4 days later, all 26 documents of that session still keep getting opened every time I launch Pixelmator. I dread opening Pixelmator Pro now. Grateful for any help.
User avatar

2020-10-27 15:21:27

For anyone stumbling onto this problem in the future, my solution was to go to the Pixelmator iCloud folder and delete all the PXD documents that Pixelmator automatically saved in there and kept reopening at every start, and then to empty the Trash. Just moving those files to the trash is not enough, as Pixelmator finds them and reopens them anyway. You'll need to empty the trash as well, or delete the files using cmd+alt+backspace instead of just cmd+backspace.
User avatar

2020-10-27 16:23:59

Ah, apologies for not replying sooner! FYI, if you ever have any issues in the future, the best place to get quick help is at support@pixelmator.com. Glad to hear you've managed to get this resolved and, thinking about it, I may have had a similar issue not too long ago — but I am running Big Sur, so these things come with the territory of beta testing. Are you also on Big Sur, by any chance?
User avatar

2020-10-29 10:30:26

Thanks for the email address. No, I'm still on Mojave.
User avatar

2020-11-02 17:12:21

Understood, so much for that hunch... :smile: