Changing Focus

I have a window open that has focus. I then open another window, which
takes the focus. When I shut that second window, is there a setting
that will automatically return focus to the prior window?

--
David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

Yes, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other
"founding fathers" owned slaves. However, they created
a nation. Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Thomas
"Stonewall" Jackson and other "heroes" of the
Confederacy tried to tear the nation apart. Statues
and other monuments to those "heroes" of the
Confederacy actually celebrate traitors and treason.

See my http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_conf_flag.html.

David E. Ross wrote:

I have a window open that has focus. I then open another window, which
takes the focus. When I shut that second window, is there a setting
that will automatically return focus to the prior window?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-order
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...(v=vs.85).aspx

There have been authors that opened a modal window, like to show config
settings, but neglect to assign the z-order incorrect. They forget that
some other window might take focus but they only planned on you closing
the modal window to get back to the parent window. Upon returning to
the program, its main GUI screen (parent window) is shown but you cannot
use it because the modal window (which locked out access to the main
screen). You can sometimes use Alt+Tab to get at the modal window but
I've seen where that window isn't in the list of windows between which
you can toggle with Alt+Tab. In that case, the next to try is to see if
you can still move the parent window around to reveal the modal window
lurking underneath, click on the modal window to give it focus so you
can close it and use the parent window.

Since z-order is relative, a window that assigned itself a value of 2,
or more, and would get focus (it was the prior touched) would still be
under another window whose z-order is 1.

On 9/13/2017 6:26 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
David E. Ross wrote:

I have a window open that has focus. I then open another window, which
takes the focus. When I shut that second window, is there a setting
that will automatically return focus to the prior window?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-order
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...(v=vs.85).aspx

There have been authors that opened a modal window, like to show config
settings, but neglect to assign the z-order incorrect. They forget that
some other window might take focus but they only planned on you closing
the modal window to get back to the parent window. Upon returning to
the program, its main GUI screen (parent window) is shown but you cannot
use it because the modal window (which locked out access to the main
screen). You can sometimes use Alt+Tab to get at the modal window but
I've seen where that window isn't in the list of windows between which
you can toggle with Alt+Tab. In that case, the next to try is to see if
you can still move the parent window around to reveal the modal window
lurking underneath, click on the modal window to give it focus so you
can close it and use the parent window.

Since z-order is relative, a window that assigned itself a value of 2,
or more, and would get focus (it was the prior touched) would still be
under another window whose z-order is 1.


All that is mainly about parent and child windows, a child being a
window launched from the parent. In my case, I am interested in windows
that are unrelated.

For example, I launch my Web browser, and its window gets the focus.
Later, I launch Adobe Reader by selecting a PDF file on my desktop,
shifting the focus to the Adobe Reader's window. When I terminate Adobe
Reader, my browser's window does not regain focus. I have to select the
window manually to give it focus.

If I open a folder's window (the parent) and then open a folder within
that parent (a child) in a new window ("Open in new window" in the
pull-down context menu), the child gains focus. If I then close the
child's window, the parent automatically regains focus.

I am looking for a way that unrelated windows behave the way parent and
child windows behave. When closing a window that has focus but does not
have a parent, focus should go to the last prior window that had focus
that is also still open.

--
David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

Yes, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other
"founding fathers" owned slaves. However, they created
a nation. Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Thomas
"Stonewall" Jackson and other "heroes" of the
Confederacy tried to tear the nation apart. Statues
and other monuments to those "heroes" of the
Confederacy actually celebrate traitors and treason.

See my http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_conf_flag.html.

David E. Ross wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

David E. Ross wrote:

I have a window open that has focus. I then open another window, which
takes the focus. When I shut that second window, is there a setting
that will automatically return focus to the prior window?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-order
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...(v=vs.85).aspx

All that is mainly about parent and child windows, a child being a
window launched from the parent. In my case, I am interested in windows
that are unrelated.

For example, I launch my Web browser, and its window gets the focus.
Later, I launch Adobe Reader by selecting a PDF file on my desktop,
shifting the focus to the Adobe Reader's window. When I terminate Adobe
Reader, my browser's window does not regain focus. I have to select the
window manually to give it focus.

If I open a folder's window (the parent) and then open a folder within
that parent (a child) in a new window ("Open in new window" in the
pull-down context menu), the child gains focus. If I then close the
child's window, the parent automatically regains focus.

I am looking for a way that unrelated windows behave the way parent and
child windows behave. When closing a window that has focus but does not
have a parent, focus should go to the last prior window that had focus
that is also still open.

You aren't using some tweak, like focus-follow-mouse (aka x-mouse)? For
that, you won't get focus on another window until you drag the mouse off
the current window to hover it over a different window.

https://winaero.com/blog/turn-on-xmo...and-windows-7/

Have you tried rebooting into Windows' safe mode and then test windowing
behavior?

Could be closing the on-top program has it generated so many errors that
the OS is bogged down with the reporting rather than change focus to the
prior-used window. See what happens when you disable Windows Error
Reporting.

I've also seen other background processes cause this problem, like
Nero's NMBgMonitor process. Some users noted seeing some processes
constantly load, unload, and repeat and when they killed the source then
the focus problem went away. Booting into Windows' safe mode should
eliminate interference by startup programs along with non-critical
services.

On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 19:25:20 -0700, David E. Ross wrote:

For example, I launch my Web browser, and its window gets the focus.
Later, I launch Adobe Reader by selecting a PDF file on my desktop,
shifting the focus to the Adobe Reader's window. When I terminate Adobe
Reader, my browser's window does not regain focus. I have to select the
window manually to give it focus.

It is going back to what previously had focus when you close Adobe
Reader, the Desktop. You gave that focus when you selected the pdf file
and it opened the reader. Your list of focus is now Adobe Reader,
desktop and web browser. You could click on the web browser after
reader opens but it's not saving you anything.

--
Faster, cheaper, quieter than HS2
and built in 5 years;
UKUltraspeed http://www.500kmh.com/

On 9/13/2017 10:13 PM, Rodney Pont wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 19:25:20 -0700, David E. Ross wrote:

For example, I launch my Web browser, and its window gets the focus.
Later, I launch Adobe Reader by selecting a PDF file on my desktop,
shifting the focus to the Adobe Reader's window. When I terminate Adobe
Reader, my browser's window does not regain focus. I have to select the
window manually to give it focus.

It is going back to what previously had focus when you close Adobe
Reader, the Desktop. You gave that focus when you selected the pdf file
and it opened the reader. Your list of focus is now Adobe Reader,
desktop and web browser. You could click on the web browser after
reader opens but it's not saving you anything.


Duh!! (Slaps side of head.) Thanks.

--
David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

Yes, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other
"founding fathers" owned slaves. However, they created
a nation. Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Thomas
"Stonewall" Jackson and other "heroes" of the
Confederacy tried to tear the nation apart. Statues
and other monuments to those "heroes" of the
Confederacy actually celebrate traitors and treason.

See my http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_conf_flag.html.

In message , David E. Ross
writes:
On 9/13/2017 10:13 PM, Rodney Pont wrote:
On Wed, 13 Sep 2017 19:25:20 -0700, David E. Ross wrote:

For example, I launch my Web browser, and its window gets the focus.
Later, I launch Adobe Reader by selecting a PDF file on my desktop,
shifting the focus to the Adobe Reader's window. When I terminate Adobe
Reader, my browser's window does not regain focus. I have to select the
window manually to give it focus.

It is going back to what previously had focus when you close Adobe
Reader, the Desktop. You gave that focus when you selected the pdf file
and it opened the reader. Your list of focus is now Adobe Reader,
desktop and web browser. You could click on the web browser after
reader opens but it's not saving you anything.


Duh!! (Slaps side of head.) Thanks.

Though I think the concept of the desktop being a process (?) in its own
right - i. e. appearing in the Alt-Tab list - came in with 7. Leaving
aside arguments as to whether it is actually valid to consider it to be
one, I've generally found this to be more often irritating than not (in
fact I can't think of many times when I've actually _wanted_ to switch
to the desktop itself; I suppose if I want to call something that has a
desktop shortcut by typing its initial letter, but that's rare, and rare
enough that I'd be happy to use either the Desktop button in the taskbar
or Win-D or -M).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness. -Leo Tolstoy,
novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)