diff --git a/src/Gui/Action.cpp b/src/Gui/Action.cpp
index 0d75c4a7e..4e1ebac76 100644
--- a/src/Gui/Action.cpp
+++ b/src/Gui/Action.cpp
@@ -630,6 +630,15 @@ void RecentFilesAction::appendFile(const QString& filename)
     files.removeAll(filename);
     files.prepend(filename);
     setFiles(files);
+
+    // update the XML structure and save the user paramter to disk (#0001989)
+    bool saveParameter = App::GetApplication().GetParameterGroupByPath
+        ("User parameter:BaseApp/Preferences/General")->GetBool("SaveUserParameter", true);
+    if (saveParameter) {
+        save();
+        ParameterManager* parmgr = App::GetApplication().GetParameterSet("User parameter");
+        parmgr->SaveDocument(App::Application::Config()["UserParameter"].c_str());
+    }
 }
 
 /**