Always Show Expanded Save and Print Dialogs on macOS

01Command

$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool true && defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode2 -bool true && defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool true && defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint2 -bool true

02What it does

macOS remembers the compact/expanded toggle per app, which is why dialogs keep collapsing after you expand them somewhere else. NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode (and its '2' successor used by newer apps) stores the expanded state for save panels globally, and PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint does the same for print dialogs. Writing these as true into NSGlobalDomain makes every Cocoa app start with the full dialog, so you can see the file path, sidebar and print details immediately.

03Risk

04Undo

$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool false && defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool false

05Sources

• macOS defaults - read, write and delete macOS user defaults
  SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
  Evidence: Shows writing boolean keys into NSGlobalDomain with `defaults write NSGlobalDomain <key> -bool true`, affecting all apps that read the global domain.
• macOS setup dotfiles (.macos)
  mathiasbynens/dotfiles (GitHub) · community · 2026-09-17
  Evidence: Sets exactly these keys: 'defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool true' plus NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode2, with a comment about expanding the save panel by default; the file also sets PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint.

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: System & Settings

06Related solutions