20

Typical situation is that I type something (worst case is my password) in some application, when some other application pops up a window and steals the focus, so my typing (password) goes to something else. I would like to prevent this, at least when I actively type something in an edit box. I always really hated this on Windows, but I never found a way to prevent this. I started using Ubuntu a while ago, and so far I was able to do everything I wanted, so I thought maybe this is also possible. Thanks in advance!

|improve this question
  • 4
    Try to change a setting with the terminal command gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences focus-new-windows 'strict'. Let us know if that works in your case. To reset to default, give the command gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences focus-new-windows – vanadium Oct 15 '18 at 20:13
  • 3
    Thanks. With this change the new windows appear in the background, but interstingly the focus is lost. So for example I start typing in the terminal, and meanwhile I start some application with starts up quite slowly. I click on the application on the left side in the favorites, click back to the terminal window to continue typing. In a few seconds the application starts, its window is put behind the terminal window (which is good) but I lose the focus, and cannot type until I click on the terminal window again. – Imre Major Oct 16 '18 at 15:26
  • A pity this did not work completely. It remains something that is difficult to control. Many related questions over the years unfortunatelly remained unanswered. – vanadium Oct 16 '18 at 16:05
  • It's not a bug, it's a feature! :( Another variation of this which affects my project is that when my app displays a pop-up (using yad) and the user clicks anywhere else, from then on that pop-up and all subsequent ones from the same app never get the focus back, even when they're on top! (The same thing would happen if another app displayed a window as in your case.) ... – Joe Oct 18 '18 at 3:55
  • ... I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking about writing another little app (that my main app can start in the background and subsequently stop when it no longer needs it) that just sits in the background looking for my pop-ups and gives the focus back to them. It appears to be easy enough to write using bash and xdotool, but a lot of things look simple before you try to implement them. This would have to know what windows it was looking for in advance, so it's not a generic solution to your issue. – Joe Oct 18 '18 at 4:01

Your Answer

By clicking "Post Your Answer", you acknowledge that you have read our updated terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy, and that your continued use of the website is subject to these policies.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.