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Applications Stealing Focus...
icekin:
If you use <a href="http://www.snapfiles.com/get/tweakuixp.html">TweakUIXP</a>, there is a setting to prevent applications from stealing focus. Instead the window will blink a fixed number of times (you set the number) in the taskbar to alert you.
Renegade:
you should clarify -- you mean applications that "pop up" unexpectedly and take focus. not applications that come up when called. right?
-mouser (December 13, 2007, 07:02 PM)
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Yes. I suppose "steal focus" is jargon and could be misinterpretted.
Renegade:
If you use <a href="http://www.snapfiles.com/get/tweakuixp.html">TweakUIXP</a>, there is a setting to prevent applications from stealing focus. Instead the window will blink a fixed number of times (you set the number) in the taskbar to alert you.
-icekin (December 13, 2007, 08:44 PM)
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I tried it, but it never seemed to work for me. :(
Renegade:
Jeff Atwood did a recent blog entry about this: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001011.html
His wrap-up line sums it up nicely:
... please don't steal my focus. I'm using it right now. Really. I am.
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-mwb1100 (December 13, 2007, 08:30 PM)
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I liked the part:
Stealing focus from the user is never acceptable. I can't imagine any circumstance where this would be desirable or even defensible behavior.
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100% agreed there.
Renegade:
there should be a focus queue (maybe with shortcut) and some visual /audio notification. like a system tray balloon + unique sound, there's software needing your attention click here or press ctrl-shift-alt-caps :P I don't think you should disable keyboard handlers for dialogue boxes though, they should just not get focus until the user tells them to. that's how i see it.
-justice (December 13, 2007, 07:39 PM)
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I don't think that an audio notification is appropriate. It's effectively "stealing audio focus". What if I'm recording? Again, bad.
The system tray balloon thing seems to be the most reasonable. However, you *could* say the same thing about that... But something needs to act as a notifier. A balloon seems to be the most unobtrusive.
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