diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/PyShell.py b/Lib/idlelib/PyShell.py
index 6f50e349431..b2a6305fc23 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/PyShell.py
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/PyShell.py
@@ -1413,7 +1413,7 @@ def main():
     global flist, root, use_subprocess
 
     use_subprocess = True
-    enable_shell = True
+    enable_shell = False
     enable_edit = False
     debug = False
     cmd = None
@@ -1434,7 +1434,6 @@ def main():
             enable_shell = True
         if o == '-e':
             enable_edit = True
-            enable_shell = False
         if o == '-h':
             sys.stdout.write(usage_msg)
             sys.exit()
@@ -1487,6 +1486,7 @@ def main():
     edit_start = idleConf.GetOption('main', 'General',
                                     'editor-on-startup', type='bool')
     enable_edit = enable_edit or edit_start
+    enable_shell = enable_shell or not enable_edit
     # start editor and/or shell windows:
     root = Tk(className="Idle")
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index c4b0b1b41fa..0dcbca2fe2a 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -297,6 +297,8 @@ Core and Builtins
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #6698: IDLE now opens just an editor window when configured to do so.
+
 - Issue #8900: Using keyboard shortcuts in IDLE to open a file no longer 
   raises an exception.