SafeExamBrowser
SEB on macOS 26 configuration unreachable
I cannot get to the the Settings window to create a new configuration in SEB on macOS 26.
To Reproduce Steps to reproduce the behavior:
- Hold down the alt/option key and double-click the SEB icon
- Continue holding alt/option until fully launched
- SEB is launched in student lock-down mode -- cannot switch apps, Settings menu item disabled, etc.
I have also tried:
- Holding down fn+option while launching
- Holding down shift+option while launching
- Holding down either and/or both option keys while launching
- Pressing command-comma after launch
- Pressing F3-F6 after launch
- Pressing Fn-F3-F6 after launch
- All of the above have been tried on both my laptop's built-in keyboard and my external keyboard
- All of the above have been tried both connected to my docking station and external monitor and not connected
Expected behavior Access to Settings to create a configuration
Version Information Please complete the following information:
- OS: macOS Tahoe 26.0.1
- SEB Version 3.6 (156D0)
Additional Context
This is a clean install of SEB on this computer. I installed it following the safexambrowser.org download link that redirected to SourceForge. I also removed the app and preferences file and installed using brew install --cask safe-exam-browser. I subsequently removed the app and preferences file and reinstalled from the SourceForge image.
The following two log files were generated by launching SEB with option held down on my external keyboard, and then attempting the keyboard shortcuts to open settings after launch. org.safeexambrowser.SafeExamBrowser 2025-10-15--14-32-27-509.log org.safeexambrowser.SafeExamBrowser 2025-10-15--14-32-27-590.log
There has been a change in SEB 3.6 with the purpose to not allow students to open the Settings window, even if the exam creator doesn't manually disable the settings menu (in Settings / Configuration / Allow to open Preferences window on client).
But because of this change, if you start SEB with default settings, you are not able to get into the Settings menu (this will be fixed in the next update). For now you can use the link (sebs://safeexambrowser.org/exams/SEBClientSettings_Settings_Allowed.seb ) on the download page to be able to open the Settings menu again:
For exam administrators: To allow accessing the in-app Settings menu/editor after a fresh install of SEB 3.6, configure SEB 3.6 with this link.
This should be fixed in the beta of SEB 3.6.1. Now when you start SEB with default (or none/reset) client settings, then the Settings window can be opened. When you create exam settings though, then by default opening the Settings window is disabled (you can of course change the setting manually).