Fix for close button delay

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Level 1

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Fix for close button delay

Trying to find fix for this problem. On various windows the red Close button stops responding to mouse clicks until I stop pressing my mouse buttons for a delay of sometimes up to 1 second. Really annoying! :/

You can reproduce the problem easily with these steps:

Find an image and open it in Preview.
Click the dropdown in the top left corner that has options for Content Only, Thumbnails, etc...
Without closing the dropdown, click the window's red Close button quickly again and again. The dropdown closes but the Close button ignores input until you stop clicking for about 1 second.

I can get the same thing to happen in other windows (even Finder), and don't always need something extra (like a dropdown to be open) for the Close button to stop responding; I just used Preview as an example since this is easy to reproduce.

I am aware of https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2793530?start=0&tstart=0 but I didn't see a solution there. Increasing the double click speed is not a solution (I am fine with the double click speed default setting, and don't want it to be faster; plus it doesn't fix the problem at all in Preview).

Thanks

Posted on Aug 14, 2013 9:24 AM

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Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Aug 14, 2013 10:12 AM in response to CamioFox

Did you try setting up another user account to see if the same thing happens? The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.

Isolating an issue by using another user account

If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode. Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application uninstaller. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode

Safe Mode - About

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Answer 2

CamioFox Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 16, 2013 6:56 AM in response to Eric Root

Eric, thanks for your reply! I first noticed the problem on my work mac. Yesterday, for home use I bought a new macbook pro (also running OSX Mountain Lion) with factory default settings. I am able to reproduce the delayed mouse clicks problem on my home mac by following the steps I listed above.

Thanks

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,668 points

Aug 16, 2013 9:40 AM in response to CamioFox

I have never been able to reproduce the problem you are seeing. I have seen that other thread and have never been able to reproduce the issue.

I understand the Preview issue, but don't see a problem with it. If you click on the Sidebar button, it is expecting a choice from the list. If it click outside of the list, like on the close button, it registers the click solely as "close the popup." I can then click the close button immediately after without problem. Also, the close button does not highlight as active with the popup open, so the behavior would be correct.

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Answer 4

CamioFox Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 16, 2013 11:13 AM in response to Barney-15E

Barney-15E, thanks for your reply! I like your explanation; it is clear and makes sense. Maybe I'm trigger-happy, but when I click off the list and then immediately on the window's red X, the red X does not trigger. Impatient, I immediately click again, and again, and so on.

It is only when I stop clicking that OSX seems to realize that the popup is closed; it is almost like OSX is remembering that I was just in a popup, and thus treating each rapid-fire click as a subsequent (but ignored) trigger for the "close the popup" event, until I stop clicking long enough for it to know to recategorize future clicks.

I can learn to be more patient, but I'm very fast with my mouse clicks and hope there's a setting somewhere that improves click sensitivity in general. (And again, I do know how to change the 'double click speed' setting -- but in certain circumstances the problem seems to happen no matter how many successive clicks I make.)

Thanks

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,668 points

Aug 16, 2013 1:26 PM in response to CamioFox

If I try as you state, repeatedly clicking, it can go for a while before it will recognize the click.

There is always a "dead" period that it must wait and ignore subsequent clicks, and perhaps the repeated clicking doesn't let it out of the dead period. When you pause long enought between clicks (likely the double-click) speed, then it recognizes the new click.

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