How to Navigate External Drive Without Opening New Finder Windows?

[Whitelightning]

So I plug in an external hard disk, double click on the desktop to open a finder window with all the contents. Every time I click a folder, it opens a new window with the folder contents, so if I traverse through 5 folders... it opens 5 new windows...

How do I set it so that when I traverse through a single folder in the same way I described above, to just a single window without opening new ones?

 

[ergdegdeg]

Go to the preferences in Finder and uncheck "Always open folders in a new window".

 

[peeaanuut]

Go to the finder. Under the Finder menu choose preferences. On the general tab there is a box that says "Always open folders in a new window"
make sure that is unchecked.

 

[Whitelightning]

That option is already unchecked. It doesnt open a new window when I open the finder app, but when i click on an external mounted drive on the desktop where it pops up the window with drive contents (no finder sidebar), it causes new windows to be opened when clicking on the folder..theres got to be a simple setting or something to do this..

 

[Makosuke]

Click the little oval pill-shaped button at the top right corner of the window. That will switch the window to the modern sidebar/toolbar view, and stop the opening of new windows.

Your external disk is defaulting to "Classic" view, where the Finder behaves like it did back in the MacOS 9 (and earlier) days. Once you've switched that for the drive, it should stick.

 

[SHADO]

Or you could just get TotalFinder so you have tabs in the Finder.

 

[Makosuke]

Or you could just get TotalFinder so you have tabs in the Finder.

...which wouldn't help much--it'd just result in a new tab being created every time the OP double-clicked a folder, until the volume got switched to modern single-window mode by hitting that pill button. Try it.

 

[Mr.Rain]

So I plug in an external hard disk, double click on the desktop to open a finder window with all the contents. Every time I click a folder, it opens a new window with the folder contents, so if I traverse through 5 folders... it opens 5 new windows...

How do I set it so that when I traverse through a single folder in the same way I described above, to just a single window without opening new ones?

Select the finder window from external drive. Click on View- Show Toolbar option. That does the trick.

 

[Dave Braine]

Hmm...I think after 7 years he may have got this figured.

 

[Mr.Rain]

Hmm...I think after 7 years he may have got this figured.

☺ I guessed that much. Its for others like me who may come here looking for the solution.

 

[Dave Braine]

Just out of curiosity, how did you find a 7 year old topic?

 

[bodziaq]

Was trying to find a solution to this issue.. When I open SD card from Desktop every folder inside the card open in new Finder window...
Used the same card on another Mac and it opens within one window and with sidebar.
How to prevent this? I've ticked an option in Finder's preferences-> General->Open on cards instead of new windows. It does not work sd cards.. I have High sierra 10.13.4

 

[Dave Braine]

and it opens within one window and with sidebar.

Yep, that's what it does for me. I'm still on Sierra though.