diff --git a/src/libmain.c b/src/libmain.c
index cbe2cf1bd9..41286a85f1 100644
--- a/src/libmain.c
+++ b/src/libmain.c
@@ -804,7 +804,11 @@ gboolean main_handle_filename(const gchar *locale_filename)
 	{	/* create new file with the given filename */
 		gchar *utf8_filename = utils_get_utf8_from_locale(filename);
 
-		doc = document_new_file(utf8_filename, NULL, NULL);
+		doc = document_find_by_filename(utf8_filename);
+		if (doc)
+			document_show_tab(doc);
+		else
+			doc = document_new_file(utf8_filename, NULL, NULL);
 		if (doc != NULL)
 			ui_add_recent_document(doc);
 		g_free(utf8_filename);