Rude taskbar

June 5, 2008 6:15 PM

winXP filter: Taskbar takes focus away from applications; Setting 'dont steal focus' in powertoys has not helped; What tools can I use to help me find out why/what is doing this?

I'll be working on an application (browser or Word or whatever) and occasionally the focus goes away (ie, my typing stops registering because the window has lost focus).

I believe the focus was taken by the taskbar or system tray. The reason I believe that is because, for instance, if I'm using a "full screen" application, the taskbar pops to the front.

I've tried using powertoys with the setting for 'dont steal focus away', it has not helped one iota. I've tried a few other fixes for 'not taking focus' (including a system tray application that runs in the background thats supposed to prevent that, and a startup batch script), neither is helping.

I'd like to find out once and for all what is going on at the moment that the taskbar/tray takes focus.

How can I diagnose this - with what tools? I've gone into Event Viewer right after it happens to see if anything is listed there, but no events are listed for the moment that it happened.

How can I find out why thats happening? Any ideas? thanks!

posted by jak68 to computers & internet (11 comments total)

I have a feeling it is something in your system tray -- perhaps a program checking for updates? Have you run msconfig and checked what apps are running in the background?
posted by pmbuko at 6:44 PM on June 5, 2008

hi pmbuko - all my startup programs are accounted for (that is, I know whats running and everything in there is there because I want it there); if it IS a system tray progam, how can I tell which program specifically is causing this? Is there some way to track the focus activity into a log?
posted by jak68 at 6:49 PM on June 5, 2008

I see this behavior when my optical mouse goes wonky. Are you using one?
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:19 PM on June 5, 2008

Yeah, I second a wonky mouse or touchpad
posted by meta_eli at 7:37 PM on June 5, 2008

hi guys - For mouse I'm using the logitech mx600 - i believe its a laser mouse, wireless. It works fine though; also this happens even when mouse is not attached (I have a laptop). I suppose I could remove the logitech software for a week and see if its happening.

But before I randomly start turning off applications, any ideas if instead there is any program with which I can track/log what is taking focus?
posted by jak68 at 7:51 PM on June 5, 2008

This is not normal behavior for XP.

Easiest way to tell is to close all your apps (including any running in the system tray) and start each one by one and test.
posted by wongcorgi at 8:01 PM on June 5, 2008

well unfortunately it only happens intermittently, so testing for it would be difficult. It occurs about twice a day.
posted by jak68 at 8:41 PM on June 5, 2008

HijackThis might help you check for any unwanted programs.
posted by signal at 9:15 PM on June 5, 2008

This sounds just like a problem I have with my Sony Vaio laptop. What causes it is a flawed keyboard. It doesn't like having me rest my hands on the plastic area surrounding the touchpad. Loves to lose focus, change text, erase stuff. I've learned to type with my hands in the air when I use this computer.
posted by ptm at 6:47 AM on June 6, 2008

Is there an "ignore trackpad input while typing" option you can select anywhere (as found on Macs)?
posted by pmbuko at 7:38 PM on June 6, 2008

I can try ignoring trackpad and turning off the logitech program... it happens whether or not i'm docked though (in which case my hands are no where near the trackpad). Thats why i tend to think its not accidental input but rather some program that is running in the background, maybe something doing an update check or some other kind of check...
posted by jak68 at 9:52 PM on June 6, 2008