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User profile for user: Mark Lindsey
Mark Lindsey Author
User level: Level 2
159 points

Window Focus Wrong / Bug After Drag and Drop

Hi,


This bug has been active since at least Leopard, but I don't recall which version, if not 10.5.


After dragging files or folders from finder to an app or a finder open/save dialog, via the app switcher (CMD-TAB), Finder gets confused about the wondow focus, and shows the wrong window (until you go nuts clicking around, and then it seems to clear up).


To better explain, here's an example:


When composing an email in Mail app, I switch to Finder (either CMD-TAB or just clicking on a visible background Finder window). I then click on and start dragging a PDF (or image/audio, etc.) that I want to add to my email. While still holding the mouse button down and dragging the object, I click CMD-TAB to switch back to Mail app (yes, a power-user move, I know - impressed? hehe). Then of course, I drop the object into my mail message.


Everything is groovy up to this point. However, when I then click my mouse on the mail message (anywhere) to write more (or whatever), as soon as I click on the mail window, the system pops the Finder window into focus that I had previously dragged the last object from, which covers my mail window and of course blocks me from typing/editing, since Finder now has the focus. If I click on the mail window again OR use CMD-TAB to switch back to the mail window, and then click again to position the cursor, the same thing happens again - up comes a finder window and I'm popped out of mail. This seems to happen several times, until I go ape on the system, clickeing between visible app windows and using CMD-TAB back and forth, until it finally returns to normal behavior. Sometimes this takes 3, 4 or 5 switches back and forth, but I've never systematically tried to determine which type of switch or click actually clears the bug.


This also happens when I'm in an open/save dialog for an app, then switch to finder so I can drag a folder, then CMD-TAB back to the app with the open/save dialog and drop it into a column (to grab the path of that folder - another power-user trick, eh?). After performing the save and returning to the app, a click on the doc window will focus on the Finder window.


This is incessant and annoying at best. Has anyone else experienced this or know of a solution/workaround (besides doing things the slow noob way)? 🙂


Thanks,


-Mark

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), Quad 2.66GHz, 16GB, 18TB HD / RAID

Posted on Jun 23, 2012 3:46 PM

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11 replies
User profile for user: Dave Polyester
Dave Polyester
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 19, 2017 2:56 PM in response to Mark Lindsey

Yep, this problem has driven me nuts for years, especially when working with emails. When I drag'n'drop a file to attach it, then click the cursor into the body of the email to continue writing, the Finder window I dragged the attachment from always jumps to the front.


I've not found any way to stop it happening altogether, but I finally found the definitive action to avoid it:


Once you've completed your drag'n'drop action, such as dragging a file onto an email to attach it, before you do anything else, click on the header bar of the window you want to focus on:

User uploaded file


This will ensure that the focus remains on that window where it should be. In my experience, clicking anywhere else on the window does not work, you must click on the header bar. The tricky part is remembering to do it!


Hope that helps someone, but be great to get a definitive solution to the underlying problem please Apple!

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Window Focus Wrong / Bug After Drag and Drop

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