Window Focus on OS X

[btmrm]

So I searched the forums and I can't seem to find any posts that actually have a resolution to the window focus problems on OS X.

I have an installation of 15.0.13 I purchased yesterday without any custom macros/code running.

I can edit, take my hands off the keyboard and watch the focus pop away from the window I was editing in. This is really annoying and not something I would have expected for $300+.

Maybe it's my fault for not trying the OS X version before buying but I've used the Windows version for years without any such annoyance.

Has anyone figured this out? Even if it's not completely solved is there at least of list of options I can take to at least minimize it?

Ugh...

[btmrm]

More...

I found that once the focus pops and the editor cursor goes from bar to block, I can keep hitting the arrows keys, after about 15 strikes (beeps) the focus pops back into the editor window.

[btmrm]

Spoke too fast... was coincidence. If I just sit an wait long enough it comes back. I tried turning on all notifications to see if it would give me a clue - nothing.

[dmw]

I've seen this too, but I just assumed it was something quirky with my system and haven't taken the time to investigate.

[ScottW, VP of Dev]

Can you post very specific instructions for how to reproduce this? Please include specific mouse and keyboard actions.  Thanks. I'll have someone look into this.

[btmrm]

Unfortunately, I do not have a single exact reproduce case that can force the behavior on demand.

Sometimes it happens while I'm typing.
Sometimes it happens while I'm selecting text.
Sometimes it happens while my hands are off the keyboard.
It happens with all the file types I have edited so far (cpp, c, java, xml).
It doesn't happen at regular intervals.
If I have a single editor window maximized I get the bar to block cursor and can't type.
If I have multiple editor windows visible I can see the window border change colors and lose focus as the cursor changes.
It's only the editor window. I don't have focus problems with other windows.

The focus always comes back to the editor window if I stop and wait about 5-10 seconds. In the meantime, any keystroke just beeps as if nothing has focus (i.e. I can't see any other form/control that has focus). Obviously I can force it back by clicking the mouse in the editor window or using Atl+Tab to refocus the app.

I posted here because I don't have an explicit on-demand reproducible case - hoping someone else might have figure it out or at least could help in further diagnostics.

[MartyL]

I think that this problem is related to SlickEdit's toast messages. Try disabling all pop-ups in Tools > Options > Application Options > Notifications.

I have noticed some strange window behavior regarding the toasts, even in Windows 7. The intervals sound suspiciously similar, as well.

[btmrm]

Thanks for the suggestion but disabling the notifications didn't resolve it.

[btmrm]

OK, I can reproduce this with some very simple steps on my travel machine which is...

Macbook Pro 13"
2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
256GB SSD HD
8 GB RAM
OS X 10.6.4

CUA Keybindings

I open a .cpp source file that is part of my project (~200 lines).
Goto the first line, first column.
Hold down the down-arrow key and scroll to the bottom
When the cursor reaches the bottom hold down the up-arrow and scroll to the top
keep repeating the full scroll up-down sequence - after about 3 passes my editor windows always loses focus

[rajkej]

I've had the same problem even with version 14 and most of the time focus returns quick enough to suit my typing. But I think the problem has gotten worse with the latest release 15.0.1.

[Scott H]

We've been trying very hard to replicate this here, with no luck.  For those that are seeing this, can you please let us know a few things:

1. What tool windows you have open?
2. What other apps you have running alongside SlickEdit?
3. Have you applied any special color coding outside the default?

We'll continue to look into this... thanks for the help tracking it down.

[rajkej]

Tool windows:
 Open File and Preview window
Other apps:
 Terminal, Mail, IChat, X11 usually running an Xterm, Chrome
No special color coding

[Scott H]

Thanks, still no luck here though.  One other thought, can you tell me what your x11 options are?  Here's what I have:

XQuartz 2.3.5
Emulate 3 mouse button: no
Follow system keyboard layout: no
Enable key equivalents under x11: no
Full screen mode: no
Use system alert effect: no

[rajkej]

XQuartz: 2.3.5
Emulate 3 mouse button: no
Follow system keyboard layout: no
Enable key equivalents under x11: no
Full screen mode: no
**Use system alert effect: yes
Enable syncing: yes
update pasteboard when clipboard changes: no
update clipboard when pasteboard changes: yes
update primary when pasteboard changes: yes
update pasteboard immediately...: yes
click through interactive windows: no
focus follows mouse: no
*focus on new windows: yes (hmmm. this could be a source)

I marked differences with **. See that last one, maybe there is some type of periodic x11 msg or window pop-up that causes focus to change and then go away?

For me this oddness happens maybe once an hour or so. Thanks for looking into it.

[Scott H]

I found this posted on another board:  http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/ticket/133

"For my case, the offending application is ARDAgent. This app runs if you have System Preferences -> Sharing -> Remote Management checked (which you might do if you're trying to defeat a security issue 10.5.X currently has). After unchecking this, X11 no longer loses focus unexpectedly. Are you running ARDAgent?"

"I did have ARDAgent running because of the security issue - Remote Management turned on but no options selected and set to "Only these users" with no users listed. I had noticed that in console I was getting a log message exactly once per minute from ARDAgent about a stray process with the same pid. This coincided with the loss of focus in X11."

Can you see if ARDAgent is running and if you see those messages in the Console?  I tried running it and still had no loss of focus, but I also don't get the pid message the person in the other thread mentioned.