diff --git a/crates/ui-egui/src/place.rs b/crates/ui-egui/src/place.rs
index 047b28ab..13e7d9f4 100644
--- a/crates/ui-egui/src/place.rs
+++ b/crates/ui-egui/src/place.rs
@@ -348,11 +348,14 @@ pub fn drop_files(app: &mut VectorcraftApp, mut files: Vec<(DropTarget, DropFile
                 p["link"] = json!(!embed);
                 run(app, &p).map(|_| ())
             }
-            DropTarget::Open => io::open_bytes(app, &name, &bytes, path.clone()).map(|_| {
-                if let Some(path) = &path {
-                    io::note_recent(app, path);
-                }
-            }),
+            DropTarget::Open => match path.as_deref() {
+                Some(path) if app.services.read.is_some() => io::open_path(app, path).map(|_| ()),
+                _ => io::open_bytes(app, &name, &bytes, path.clone()).map(|_| {
+                    if let Some(path) = &path {
+                        io::note_recent(app, path);
+                    }
+                }),
+            },
         };
         if let Err(e) = r {
             app.status(if target == DropTarget::Open { format!("Couldn't open {name}: {e}") } else { format!("Couldn't place {name}: {e}") });