Program loses focus

[Guest]

Someone in our office has a new laptop. It's running Windows XP
Professional. He's only been running it a few days. He will have a few
programs open (Word, e-mail program, planner, windows explorer, etc.). He
will be typing in Word, when all of a sudden he loses the focus. It will go
to another program. He thought maybe he was accidentally hitting one of the
windows keys, but on several occasions it has happened without any
hands/fingers near keyboard or mouse. Has this ever happened to anyone?
Thanks for your help.

Michele

 

[Jon]

If you're comfortable with editing the registry (start > run > regedit),
then have a look at this key value

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ForegroundLockTimeout

A low value there allows other programs to steal focus

Right-click the key > Modify > Check decimal > Change value to 200000

If you're not comfortable with that, then get hold of, and install,
TweakUI and there's a Focus option on the General node that effectively does
the same thing (+has a couple of other options)

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Jon

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much. I will go try that (the Registry).

 

[Jon]

You're welcome... post back if it doesn't do the trick

Jon

 

[T. Waters]

Someone in our office has a new laptop. It's running Windows XP
Professional. He's only been running it a few days. He will have a
few programs open (Word, e-mail program, planner, windows explorer,
etc.). He will be typing in Word, when all of a sudden he loses the
focus. It will go to another program. He thought maybe he was
accidentally hitting one of the windows keys, but on several
occasions it has happened without any hands/fingers near keyboard or
mouse. Has this ever happened to anyone? Thanks for your help.

Michele

It might be the touchpad.
If the user has a mouse installed, see if the touchpad can be disabled.
PS: Is any particular program stealing focus, or is it random?

 

[Kelly]

Hi Michele,

TweakUI/General/Focus
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Prevent Programs from Stealing Focus - Undo (Line 66)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

When a window that does not have focus is updated by its program, the
default setting prevents it from becoming the foremost (top) window,
instead, it flashes in the taskbar.

HeldUp is the easiest way to stop windows from disappearing behind other
programs. http://www.johnmacintyre.ca/HeldUp.asp

Programs May Start, Quit, Lose, and Gain Focus Randomly
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313176&Product=winxp

Customize Auto Hide Taskbar Settings (Line 190) Right hand side
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Tip:

Tool Tips Hidden Behind Taskbar (Line 321)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com