diff --git a/src/plugins/qmldesigner/documentmanager.cpp b/src/plugins/qmldesigner/documentmanager.cpp
index 8530743d5fb..a913b5aac0a 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qmldesigner/documentmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/qmldesigner/documentmanager.cpp
@@ -351,12 +351,16 @@ Utils::FilePath DocumentManager::currentProjectDirPath()
 {
     QTC_ASSERT(QmlDesignerPlugin::instance(), return {});
 
-    if (!QmlDesignerPlugin::instance()->currentDesignDocument())
+    if (!QmlDesignerPlugin::instance()->currentDesignDocument()) {
+        if (ProjectExplorer::Project *project = ProjectExplorer::ProjectManager::startupProject())
+            return project->projectDirectory();
         return {};
+    }
 
     Utils::FilePath qmlFileName = QmlDesignerPlugin::instance()->currentDesignDocument()->fileName();
 
     ProjectExplorer::Project *project = ProjectExplorer::ProjectManager::projectForFile(qmlFileName);
+
     if (project)
         return project->projectDirectory();