macOS open/save window resize automatically

Last week I updated my macOS system to latest Ventura 13.4 and I love it very much as I didn’t seem to find any issues in running my programs. However, today I encountered an unexpected issue: the save window keeps getting longer when I use MEGA11 to export fasta file from ab1 file (i.e. raw file from sanger sequencing). I have 54 new ab1 files to examine and this issue very quickly becomes a pain for me.

I spent two hours and finally figured out a solution. For properties like window size, macOS has a specific location to store the info. Here is how to find the file (.plist file):

Open Finder > Go (located at top menu bar) > Go to Folder > type “/Users/ying/Library/Preferences” > enter > search MEGA11 (or whatever program has this issue)

You can open this .plist file using TextEditor. I use BBEdit. In this file, you will see “NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForSaveMode”, which causes the issue. Here is how to fix this issue using terminal:

# first test the program name is correct, mine is MEGA11
open -a "MEGA11" 

# Now set the window size to default
defaults delete -app "MEGA11" NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForOpenMode
defaults delete -app "MEGA11" NSNavPanelExpandedSizeForSaveMode

Although I have to keep running this command to reset the window size, at least it is a solution! I hope MEGA11 can have updates to fix this soon!