diff --git a/src/gui/BrowserDialog.cxx b/src/gui/BrowserDialog.cxx
index f9c45587e..26719b0ba 100644
--- a/src/gui/BrowserDialog.cxx
+++ b/src/gui/BrowserDialog.cxx
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ void BrowserDialog::show(string_view startpath,
   }
 
   // Set start path
-  if(_mode != Mode::Directories)
+  if(_mode != Mode::Directories && !directory.empty())
     _fileList->setDirectory(FSNode(directory), fileName);
   else
     _fileList->setDirectory(FSNode(startpath));