Ask HN: Why does macOS still lack focus stealing prevention in 2025?
5 pointsby joshuaka month ago5 comments
  • k310a month ago
    GIMP refuses to give the keyboard focus to a file dialog. I have to click on the dialog's window.

    I have found no solution, and the customary ENTER key does not work until I click on the save dialog,nor file name, nada, and this all used to work smoothly. Search turns up no other cases of this.

  • al_borlanda month ago
    WebEx is very guilty of this any time sharing is invoked or changes hands.

    I usually just curse at it and call it names.

    • joshuaka month ago
      This is the problem I suspect. I think it has a negative impact on tons of users but people just curse and move on.
      • al_borlanda month ago
        One of the big problems for me is that my company installs all kind of nonsense for security that makes the whole system behave strangely. For example, when I click on a window to activate it, it will often jump across the screen. In over 20 years on the Mac, I’ve never experienced this on my personal system. However, it happens almost every day at work. The hard drive on my desktop also randomly disappears and reappears, but only on the work Mac, and it’s happened constantly, everyday, for 6 years. It’s probably JAMF, but I can’t do anything about it. There is a bit of learned helplessness when dealing with my work Mac.

        Most of my focus issues are at work, so I have no idea what is a macOS issue and what is an issue with the stuff the company installed.

        On my personal Mac and phone, I submit feedback to Apple all the time when things annoy me, since those issues are more clear cut.

  • bigyabaia month ago
    I'm not sure, but if you've reached the point that you're sending AI-generated pleas to the community then you might as well switch to Linux or Windows.
    • joshuaka month ago
      Thanks for your "not sure" comment. Very helpful. Perhaps I'm mistaken but I thought the formatting would make it more legible and scannable. I can see why that might come across as AI generated, but it isn't. I did use AI to reduce the formatting just now though. Do you find this more or less objectionable?
  • daviddever23boxa month ago
    Windows may not steal your keyboard focus, but it will block the very thing you're trying to do with useless dialogue boxes.

    Notifications should be non-blocking. ALWAYS.

  • alphadatavaulta month ago
    [flagged]