How do I stop Microsoft Teams from opening individual chats in a new window when I click on someone's name?

Question

How do I stop Microsoft Teams from opening individual chats in a new window when I click on someone's name?

Fu, Laura 5

First of all, let me point out that in Settings > General Opening content in Teams windows and Starting chats, I have already selected "Main window". This setting has always been there.

But for several months now, whenever I single-click on someone's name in the left-side panel, even my own (I "chat" with myself and put notes and drafts there), it opens a new tab.

I've tried changing the double-click speed on my mouse too, but to no avail. This does not happen with any other app on my Mac, only in Microsoft Teams.

Is there some setting to prohibit a chat thread from opening as a separate window? It's becoming very cumbersome to close it every single time. It clutters up my desktop and is just plain annoying. Help! Why can't this app be more like Slack or Gchat?

Daniel Page 0 Reputation points

2026-06-18T13:22:06.99+00:00

This is an out of the box feature in Teams, not related to MacOS versions or hardware: If you double click on any conversation, or any action is taken as a double click (This can also including clicking in Teams to give the window context and then clicking on the conversation too quickly.), then the conversation or channel gets popped up in an independant window.

It's immensely annoying.

2 answers

Your answer

Daniel Page 0 Reputation points

2026-06-18T13:22:06.99+00:00

This is an out of the box feature in Teams, not related to MacOS versions or hardware: If you double click on any conversation, or any action is taken as a double click (This can also including clicking in Teams to give the window context and then clicking on the conversation too quickly.), then the conversation or channel gets popped up in an independant window.

It's immensely annoying.

Answer 1

Fu, Laura 5

What is your exact Microsoft Teams version (check under your profile > About Teams)?

Version 25240.1603.3956.3103

What macOS version are you running (e.g., Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia)?

macOS Sequoia v15.6.1

Is this happening with the trackpad, an external mouse, or both? If external, what model?

Trackpad and Logo ERGO M575S (wireless, ergonomic mouse)

Kai-Ex 1,480 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-02T23:37:35.27+00:00

Hi @Fu, Laura I hope you're doing well. I'm not sure if my explanation was unclear in any way. If anything didn’t make sense, please feel free to reach out. I'm still here to support you, so no worries at all.
Anonymous

2025-10-05T23:36:04.4333333+00:00

Hi Fu, Laura

Sorry for late response.

Are there any updates from you?
Fu, Laura 5 Reputation points

2025-10-06T12:11:56.9366667+00:00

Nope. Still happening.
Kai-Ex 1,480 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-07T05:26:29.82+00:00

Hi @Fu, Laura

Please consider updating to the latest version, as it may resolve some issues where the application is not working properly.

Have you checked if the issue persists when using the Teams Web version?

Answer 2

Dear Fu, Laura

Good day! Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I’m here to assist with your problem.

To help narrow down the issue, could you please provide more details on the following:

What is your exact Microsoft Teams version (check under your profile > About Teams)?
What macOS version are you running (e.g., Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia)?
Is this happening with the trackpad, an external mouse, or both? If external, what model?

In the meantime, I recommend:

Clear the Teams cache on your Mac: Refer to Clear the Teams client cache - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
As an option, we can use the web app, Teams Web, to avoid it (where it is not an available feature.)

Please notice and accept my apologies that as moderators in the community, we are not supported for the product design and have limited resources for the advanced info for Microsoft products. To help you send your feedback and requirements to the related development team, we have redirected you to the correct path.

We appreciate your kind patience and understanding that sometimes the initial response may not immediately resolve the issue or there may be some misunderstandings about your scenario, but we would love to hear updates from you and find out further suggestions.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

User's image