windows - Auto focus on control panel's search box

07
2014-07
  • Strategy Thinker

    I am not sure if this applies to Windows in general or just Windows 7.

    On my old Windows 7 computer, whenever I would open the Control Panel the search box would be in focus. On my new Windows 7 computer, this is not the case; to make it worse, even when I type something into the search box and press backspace to clear the search box, then the search box loses focus; and also after typing one letter into the search box, it loses focus.

    This is highly annoying, but I cannot remember how I got the search box to be in auto focus on my old computer, hence I cannot do it for this computer, does anyone know how to do so?

    • Answers
  • techie007

    It should auto-focus and stay there like your old computer did, there's no way to change this behaviour via a simple setting.

    So it sounds to me like you have something wrong with your new computer.

    Try it in Safe Mode, if it works as expected, it's a piece of 3rd party software that's running and interfering. If that's the case then you can use MSConfig to disable things, and then re-enable them one at a time until you identify the culprit.


    • Related Question

    Windows 7 new apps windows with no focus
  • Michal M

    I've only installed my Windows 7 Ultimate last night.

    Got a problem with new windows focus.
    Problem only applies to windows opened through keyboard shortcuts.

    I've got MS Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and it has app shortcut keys, like Calc, Mail, Browser, etc.

    Whenever I use it (I've got latest driver installed) new app window opens but it's not in focus. It opens in background which is well annoying, because I have to click the window or Alt+Tab it.

    Anyone had similar issue and/or knows how to resolve it?

    UPDATE

    It looks as if it was driver issue.
    One solution is to use AutoHotKey which is suggested in other thread Jared pointed out. This seems like the most reasonable one as well for the moment.

    I haven't gone with it, though. What I've done is I unistalled the driver and installed it again. I also have Logitech mouse for which the driver I installed after they keyboard's one. By re-installing keyboard driver I put kind of "on top" of the Logitech one and, although I am not sure if it's related at all, they keyboard button shortcuts seems to work much better (not always though!).

    Thanks for your help fellas.


    • Related Answers
  • Jared Harley

    I have this issue with a Microsoft keyboard on a Windows XP machine as well. It seems to be a problem with either the Microsoft IntelliType software or keyboard driver, and it seems to be just the calculator button.

    One "solution" from the Windows 7 Taskforce website is to tap the key twice to pull the calculator to the front.

    This same behavior also appears when the calculator key is set to launch another program - see Issue 302 for SpeedCrunch.

  • Joshua

    Sounds like a driver bug, actually. Is the your driver's release date AFTER the release of Windows 7? Not everybody -- including microsoft -- has update their drivers yet.

    Alternatively, is there a setting in the driver somewhere that allows you to choose whether a window is in front or not?

  • AnonJr

    Do you have other applications open when this happens? And does it happen if there's nothing open?

    I ask because Windows 7 is really good for preventing applications from stealing focus if you're in the middle of something.