I tried to solve the following issue with Claude AI without success. I couldn't find this issue anywhere in this forum, so here's my bug report (written by Claude).
When restoring a saved window layout that includes Preview.app, the document window is not restored correctly if Preview is not already running. Instead of opening the saved PDF, Preview launches and shows its default "Open" file dialog (which visually resembles a Finder window).
Steps to reproduce:
- Open a PDF in Preview, position the window, capture it in a Window Layout (tested with "Automatic", "Any window of this app", and "Document path must match" identification methods — same result with all three)
- Quit Preview completely
- Restore the layout (tested via keyboard shortcut, Launcher, and the "Restore Now (Test)" button directly in the layout editor — same result with all three)
- Expected: Preview opens with the saved PDF at the saved position
- Actual: Preview opens with its "Open" file dialog instead; no document is loaded
What we've ruled out:
- Special characters in filename/path (tested with a plain-ASCII filename — same issue)
- File stored on a cloud-synced drive (tested with a purely local file — same issue)
- Launcher/keyboard shortcut as trigger source (tested with the direct "Restore Now (Test)" button — same issue)
- Duplicate/stale entries in the layout — cleaned up, same issue persists
Environment:
- BetterTouchTool version: 6.832
- macOS version: 26.6.2
- Mac model: MacBook Air 15" (retina display) + external screen (MB16FC)