Applications stealing focus - reg key no longer fixes

Anonymous
2010-04-08T18:42:59+00:00

I want to prevent any applications from stealing focus in windows 7 (and Vista).  Tweakui used to modify the below Registry key to 0.  Then there was a key that affected the number of flashes a "want to steal focus" window would make in the taskbar.

ForegroundLockTimeout

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

This reg key is apparently no longer working.  Focus stealing is a major problem, from canceling/oking window that pop-up, to getting virus's from IE windows.  Applications are still written to do this, including MS Office 2007.  If you are typing an email something can pop up and get the next key stroke.  I need to fix this.  Any ideas, or has Windows completely removed a needed feature.

tags: steal focus apps active regedit

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Apps

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Anonymous
2011-10-23T11:13:03+00:00

I solved the problem in this way:

I noticed that just before the focus was "stolen", the PC got "busy" for a second (beside the mouse appeared the small circle indicating the processor is working hard on sth).

So I started the Task Manager and gave a close look at the processes. I noticed that one process took over a relevat percentage of CPU usage exactly an instant before the focus was stolen from the task manager window.

Since it was a process that I don't need to be active all the time (sth about Vodafone Mobile connection, which I rarely use) I just stopped the process and then didn't allow the process to be started every time I turn on the PC. I did this last step using Piriform's free software  "CCleaner", but I'm sure you can find different tools for this...

This was enough to fix it ...

Hope this helped!

Bye!

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-02-17T23:44:16+00:00

    It doesn't matter that you can't reproduce the specific instance.  What does matter is that this is happening, and it's a problem. 

    I am an accountant, and this happens too often with the various software that I use.  Just wait until you are in the middle of typing up an e-mail and you hit "cancel" or "OK" inadvertently as you are typing away are 50-60 WPM.  There is no time to respond, only "Ummmm, what did I just select?".

    Bottom line, bad coding,.  M$ can't hold developer's hands and tell them how to write their software, but they can block this behavior by writing the appropriate code of their own and at MINIMUM allowing us access to disable the hook the allows programs to steal focus.

    It's real, it happens, and it is really happening at inopportune times for many of us.

    Please, can we get a change, patch, something?

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-02-17T23:33:02+00:00

    I will not claim this isn't a problem, but I cannot reproduce it using those steps.  I know a great many people have this problem, all of whom are using a wide assortment of software, hardware, drivers, and configurations.  Surely there is something in common that is causing this behavior, but to date I haven't found out what all these folks have in common.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-02-17T23:27:42+00:00

    Yes, that is OK but Microsoft will tell you that Photoshop is not their software, so they have no control over it. Like any program can do whatever it wants, without any control from the operating system. Then why do we need operating systems??!!

    I did another test, using onlt Microsoft:

    1. Created a batch with the commands:

        PING 127.0.0.1 -n 10

        %SystemRoot%\system32\mstsc.exe

    1. Run it
    2. Open Notepad and start typing. When the remote connection window will open, it will still your focus from Notepad.

    So stilling focus is true and this time is ONLY Microsoft!!

    DLSalahi,

    You may want to do a more exhaustive test then you have done. Your example as it does not result in stolen focus in my Windows 7 Enterprise test environment. Rather instead it ends with a Remote Desktop client that sits behind my notepad window and generates a pulse in the task bar, which is a perfectly splendid behavior.

    Justin

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