Keynote only opens one file with external displays via dock

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Keynote only opens one file with external displays via dock

Hi,

Weird problem with Keynote. I am running Mac OS 15.5 (Sequoia) on a MacBook Air (MBA: 13.3", M3, 2024 build). Keynote is up today (ver. 14.4). At home I run just the MBA without an external monitor. At work, I use a two external monitors through a Dual Display USB-C Dock.

With just the MBA, I can open two or more Keynote files without a problem. At work, connected to the Dock & external displays, I can only open one Keynote file at a time. If I try to open a second file, the app goes into presentation mode and apparently closes the first file. The end result is that I can only view and manipulate one file at a time. But, if I disconnect from the dock, open the second file, and then reconnect, both files remain open.

This sequence is a little cumbersome. Is there any way to open two Keynote files while connected to the external monitors?

Thanks for any input.

MacBook Air (M3, 2024)

Posted on Dec 8, 2025 2:14 PM

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Answer 1

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DrDMagnetic Author

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Dec 12, 2025 1:45 PM in response to Camelot

Thanks! I think the 'Automatically play upon opening' under (Inspector -> Document) may be it. Unselecting that option seems to have affected all presentations. Conversely, selecting it also seems to affect all Keynote documents. Kind of counter intuitive as the Inspector --> Document option to me sounds like it can apply differently to different docs, but it appears to be a global setting.

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Answer 2

Dec 11, 2025 1:43 AM in response to DrDMagnetic

Disable Keynote’s auto-presentation behavior

Open Keynote → Preferences → Slideshow

Disable:

“Use external displays”
“Automatically play upon opening”
“Always use full screen”

Restart Keynote.

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Answer 3

Camelot

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58,299 points

Dec 11, 2025 10:17 AM in response to azaksalmarzur28

Of these three (AI-suggested?) suggestions, only one of them is actually a real option - 'Automatically play upon opening', which is under Inspector -> Document.

However, assuming the OP is opening the same set of documents, that's not likely to be a solution since the behavior differs depending on whether external monitors are attached or not - the 'Auto play' option would play regardless of the monitor configuration.

The question, therefore, is whether this is the same set of presentations that are being opened, or if it's specific presentations that exhibit this behavior.

Does it happen consistently? with all presentations?

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Answer 4

DrDMagnetic Author

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Dec 12, 2025 1:46 PM in response to azaksalmarzur28

Thanks for the suggestion, but those options are not completely accurate with my version of Keynote (version 14.4 (7043.0.93)).

There is no "Preferences" Menu. There is a "Settings" menu with a "Slideshow" tab. The settings in that tab are as in the screenshot below. I can't find the mapping from the suggestions to what's on my version of Keynote (I think this is the most recent version).

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