diff --git a/src/fe-common/core/window-items.c b/src/fe-common/core/window-items.c
index fef32a5f..3b72d4e8 100644
--- a/src/fe-common/core/window-items.c
+++ b/src/fe-common/core/window-items.c
@@ -246,8 +246,9 @@ void window_item_create(WI_ITEM_REC *item, int automatic)
 	g_return_if_fail(item != NULL);
 
 	reuse_unused_windows =
-		!settings_get_bool("autoclose_windows") ||
-		settings_get_bool("reuse_unused_windows");
+                settings_get_bool("reuse_unused_windows") ||
+		(!settings_get_bool("autoclose_windows") &&
+		 settings_get_bool("autocreate_windows"));
 
 	clear_waiting = TRUE;
 	window = NULL;