diff --git a/src/gui/src/IPC.js b/src/gui/src/IPC.js
index dd6a5febd..afbf4c6d9 100644
--- a/src/gui/src/IPC.js
+++ b/src/gui/src/IPC.js
@@ -1367,6 +1367,9 @@ const ipc_listener = async (event, handled) => {
         }
 
         // set options
+        if ( typeof event.data.options === 'string' ) {
+            event.data.options = { defaultColor: event.data.options };
+        }
         event.data.options = event.data.options ?? {};
 
         // Clear window_options for security reasons