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How to prevent Adobe software stealing focus in Windows 10? - LOCKED

Explorer ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Every Adobe app (InDesign, Photoshop...) is stealing the focus from other application a several times. This behaviour is annoying as well as useless. How to stop this?

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Community Expert ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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We need way more detail than that.

What version of Adobe apps? A screen grab of what’s happening would help, too.

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Explorer ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Adobe InDesign CC Version 2015.1

try this

- open for example Notepad

- start InDesign

- go back to Notepad and type something

- while the App InDesign is starting/loading, it will steal the focus a several times, means its window places itself in the foreground

- your Notepad loses the focus/lands in the background

résumé

you can't work properly while InDesign is loading

solution

InDesign (and every other Adobe app) should stay in the background until and only the user is clicking the ceratin window

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Advocate ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Let it load all the way then it stops.  Its like that on the mac too however its just because the program is booting up.  I would be surprised if you can stop it. Maybe go into your service menu and put the priority to low?  but that can make your adobe products act sluggish even after loading.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Thanks.

Just tried it and I’m not seeing that behavior at all. What ever it is is unique to your system. Is this a new machine? An upgrade to Win 10? If so, from what prior version of Windows?

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Explorer ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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I see this behavior since Windows XP, all the way up to Win 10. It seems to be highly unlikely that this shall be unique to my system. If you google "prevent application from stealing focus" you'll find some other users deploring this problem

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Community Expert ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Like I said, not seeing it here. Does it happen at any time other than an application launch?

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Explorer ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Just at launching.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 09, 2015 Nov 09, 2015

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Then I’m sorry but only suggestion is to launch the apps you need and be done with it.

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Guest
Aug 10, 2016 Aug 10, 2016

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I have the same problem using freshly installed Photoshop CC 2015.5, Illustrator CC 2015.3, and InDesign CC 2015 on Windows 7. Heck, I had just started up Photoshop when I began typing this comment and had focus stolen twice!

Then I’m sorry but only suggestion is to launch the apps you need and be done with it.

Sounds like

Problem is on your end not ours. Get over it.

Your Friends,

Adobe

Rubbish! I have never witnessed any application other than Adobe's doing this. But that seems to be the direction much software is heading these days: add shiny, new features constantly, but don't fix the glaring, simple issues that make work harder for everyone.

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Community Expert ,
Aug 10, 2016 Aug 10, 2016

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I don't work for Adobe. I passed along the only suggestion I have until such time that this might be addressed.

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New Here ,
Dec 01, 2016 Dec 01, 2016

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Happens to me as well. Very annoying. Program takes a while to load, so being an efficient and effective person, you do not stare at your PC while it loads. You do other stuff. Again, stealing once is fine, but it steals focus 3 times (on first start/load)

First = Splash Screen (First time loading, it takes a while for the Splash Screen to appear, so you will be doing other stuff while waiting)

Second = When it's loaded (with black grey background)

Third = When the "Recent Files" and other stuff appears

Programs should not steal focus, regardless, even if it's giving a prompt. (May not relate to Adobe). Come up with a prompt that steals focus while I'm typing? Well, guess what, I may hit a shortcut or something without even realising what it was. Stupid design/feature. Whoever thought of it should be ashamed.

Edit: I'm using Windows 8.1, so it's not isolated to Windows 10.

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New Here ,
Aug 25, 2016 Aug 25, 2016

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I totally agree that it's annoying. I can live with an app stealing focus once as it launches. But only once. Photoshop CC 2015.5 just keeps coming back three or four times. Drives me crazy.

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New Here ,
Jan 18, 2017 Jan 18, 2017

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I settled on a temporary solution (that works for me, at least).

When Photoshop steals focus for the first time while loading, instead of just returning to what I was doing before it stole focus, by Alt+Tab or by clicking my desired app on the toolbar, I instead minimize Photoshop. By proactively telling the darn app to shrink, it can continue to just steal focus over and over again. So long as it's minimized while doing so, my concentration is not interrupted.

That said, Adobe should still fix the problem. Just saying.

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New Here ,
Dec 25, 2016 Dec 25, 2016

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This guy... Oh boy..

It happens on every system. It is the way windows works...

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Community Beginner ,
Jul 27, 2016 Jul 27, 2016

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It is not unique to that system. It does it on my machine too. Windows 10 with the fully updated CC version of photoshop and lightroom. Does the same thing and has been doing it for months. The point is not to have to wait for the program to start up, that is not a solution to this problem because the problem is that we want to use our computer while this program is starting and there is no reason for it to behave the way it does.

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Explorer ,
Aug 03, 2016 Aug 03, 2016

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I agree.  Photoshop CC2015.5 will grab focus back multiple times during start up, which even on a decent PC is far slower than any previous version.  I don't recall earlier versions doing it, or if they did it was just once and you could easily alt tab to another window to continue working while it loaded.  It's extremely annoying behavior and out of the dozen or so programs I use on a daily basis, the newer Adobe ones are the only ones that steal focus like this.

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 27, 2016 Oct 27, 2016

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Also agree - highly annoying. Once is fine, when the window first opens. I alt-tab back to what I was doing while the app loads. But it steals focus at least 3 times during load, and there's really NO need for that.

After the initial focus, it's annoying and unneccessary. This happens in both LR and PS (CC and stand-alone installs).

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 07, 2016 Nov 07, 2016

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I also have this problem and it is very frustrating. Earlier versions did not do this. Please fix it!!!

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Guest
Nov 07, 2016 Nov 07, 2016

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very frustrating

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 17, 2016 Nov 17, 2016

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Same thing happening here.

CC 2015.3, Windows 8.1

Photoshop

>Launch Photoshop file

>Alt-tab back to my email.

>Start typing a reply

>PHOTOSHOP!!! (would you like to link these fonts?)

>Alt-tab all the way back to email and continue where photoshop interrupted.

After Effects

>Be in Photoshop with a long render going in AE in the background

>Do detail work, spend 11 minutes carefully drawing a selection marqee around some object.

>Brain sends instruction to hand to click on the final spot to close marquee loop

>AFTER EFFECTS RENDER FINISHED.

>finish clicking motion in After Effects

>Go back to Photoshop and redraw entire loop.

Pre-CC 2015.3 didn't do this.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 17, 2016 Nov 17, 2016

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Back in the old days, there was a registry key you could adjust (in WinXP, no later versions I think) that could prevent focus stealing. In general, it's up to the app developers. So I would suggest that you-all frustrated people go and start support cases about it. You could file bug report/feature request as well, but I think that dozens of support cases are more likely to lead to revisions in code than hundreds of bug reports.

My solution is to change my own workflow:

1) Wake up computer

2) Start CC apps

3) Make coffee

4) Begin work

I chose this workflow because not even StackOverflow or SuperUser could develop solutions that would fix this annoyance. Some clever developer figured out how to get every single Windows process to load a custom DLL that would prevent focus stealing at large. However, I avoid tools like that in my production partition; I don't want the OS install I use to make money to have something labeled "alpha version, for testing use only" wedged into it.

Lastly, in an answer reminiscent of what I told people trying to use Linux on the desktop 10+ years ago, you might want to try other window managers. I've not tried 'em, but Actual Tools' Actual Window Manager has a setting that will prevent focus stealing. You may need something like that to get what you want.

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Engaged ,
Nov 21, 2016 Nov 21, 2016

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Photoshop CC 2016 this behaviour is still happening. Distruptive especially as Photoshop takes time to load.

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New Here ,
Nov 25, 2016 Nov 25, 2016

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This is still ongoing, and still very very frustrating. I swore out loud today in anger and my co-worker asked me what prompted the swearing. I explained my concern and he noted that he has the same annoyances with the Creative Cloud products.

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2016 Nov 30, 2016

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Just wanted to add my voice to this thread. I have also found this really annoying and have experienced it with older versions of LR and on my current installation (Windows 10, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC 2015.7 release [1090788]).

User experience: I'm midway through an email when I realise I'm going to need a couple of photos from LR. I fire up LR from the task bar and continue with the email (but already I am bracing myself for the alt-tab battle). LR takes focus - splash screen! I alt-tab back to my email and continue typing. I get maybe 3-4 letters out and then LR steals focus again. I have to hit alt-tab a couple of times and focus flicks between LR and my email. My blood pressure rises. Finally LR finishes loading and generously permits me to continue with my email. The whole episode takes maybe 5-8 seconds, but it happens every time I start Lightroom. Could I change my workflow in order to avoid this (i.e. start LR in the morning while I'm getting coffee)? Sure, but why does LR/PS get to dictate this to me? It doesn't happen with any other applications.

This is the kind of problem that is completely unglamorous and is met with eyerolls and "just get over it" from the development team, but which is a daily irritation for many users. Sure, we could just define this as 'not a problem' and the people responsible could continue adding exciting new features, but sometimes it's the basics that the users will really appreciate.

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