Can't open multiple .blend files at the same time (Blender 4.0 / Mac M2)

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1

Hi all,
how can I open multiple Blender files at the same time on Mac Silicon?

When trying to open a second .blend file with the Blender UI or Finder, a dialogue box appears in Blender asking me to close the running file. Been using Blender on Win & Mac Intel without problems before. But since switching to M2, I can only open one file at a time.

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Using MacBook M2 Max with macOS Ventura V13.5.2 & Blender 4.0.2 Silicon version

2

We can only run one .blend file per blender instance.
I don’t know what you did before, but that has always been the case.

So, if you want to open two blend files at same time. You just have to start two Blender.
Maybe you are confusing the .blend file with a scene.
It is possible to append/link a scene from one file into another one, and end up with two scenes opened in one Blender.
But one blender instance did never run two files, at a time.

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3

Thanks for replying. Uhm, probalby my description was a little confusing…

If I remember correctly, I could just double-click and open any .blend file in the Windows explorer on Win10. Then a new Blender instance would open with that file, regardless if other Blender instances were already running.

If I try the same thing on M2 now, I am being asked to close the running instance first :thinking: I can’t get the mac to run 2 instances.
Also, nothing happens if I try to openinging another Blender instance via Finder or LaunchPad.

4

OK. I have no clue if that is normal under Mac OS.
I am under linux and have no issue to open several Blender instances.

I suppose that may be a restriction from OS settings.
But if it is not, that may be a change to obtain better Metal support.

5

It is Ctrl-Click for me in Linux. So try Option-click.

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