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Inspiring
November 7, 2012

P: Secondary Window blocks mouse clicks even when closed after switching desktop spaces

  • November 7, 2012
  • 33 replies
  • 2059 views

I've submitted an issue for this with Adobe but, perhaps because of some communication issues, they have reported that they are unable to reproduce the problem. My question to the community is - can anyone else verify the following - using my steps and explanation?

Environment: iMac 27" with only the single monitor.
OS 10.8.2.
Lightroom 4.2

Basic Description of Problem:

After invoking the window for a "second monitor" - which pops up on top of my main display screen, I can close the second window and click on items which were hidden under the second window. If, however, I switch to another "Desktop Space" on the Macintosh and switch back, the area where the second monitor window was located becomes a "dead space" where mouse clicks to select something no longer work.

My current workarounds:

1. Open and close the secondary window again - and the area "covered" by the window will start responding (problem is - you need to do this every time - a pain if you set up something like PhotoShop CS6 and Photomatix in different Desktop Spaces to switch to when processing).

2. Move the window as far as you can off the screen - so the area doesn't overlap anywhere you'd want to click. This works as long as Lightroom is running. If you quit, however, the window position coordinates are updated (even if the window is closed) so the entire window is located within a valid monitor area.

Step-by-Step (somewhat abbreviated since this isn't a QA report forum 😉

1. Launch Lightroom and - just to ensure you're really able to see the issue (and working the way I do) - make sure the display is mostly maximized to fill the monitor.
2. Switch to Library (if not there already) and switch to Grid view.
3. Either click on the icon to open the "secondary display" or - go to the menu option Window>Secondary Display>Show to open the window.
4. Just to make this obvious - if it happens - resize this new window (on top of your main display - remember - I have only the one display) - so large it covers many of the image previews displayed in "Grid" mode.
5. Close (Hide) the secondary window display. Either click the close button - or use the Window menu to deselect "Show".
6. At this point - I can click on images which were previously covered by the secondary window - and my mouse clicks select the images, etc.
7. Switch to another desktop. Use "control + right arrow" or something.
8. Switch back to the desktop space where Lightroom is located.
9. Try clicking on an image in the grid view which was previously covered by the secondary window.

Does it respond? In every case - my mouse clicks fail at this point. It's as if the secondary window - while "closed" - is now masking the main display after switching to another desktop and back.

This topic has been closed for replies.

33 replies

Participating Frequently
July 30, 2015
Yeah, I can confirm. This issue has existed in at least the last 3 versions. I'm currently in LR6, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3) Late 2013 iMac, 3.5GHz, 32GB Ram.
wirrah
Known Participant
July 30, 2015
This issue is still evident in Lightroom 6 (CC). The secondary window causes dead space for the mouse after the window is closed (although not consistently). Typically I open the secondary display window in the map module. In the develop module you can actually see the resize mouse pointer and resize the secondary desktop window even though it has been closed!!!

27" late 2009 iMac. Single monitor and single desktop space.

I can get around it by either switching screen resolutions back and forth or reopening and closing the secondary window.
Participating Frequently
November 8, 2014
I'm in OSX 10.7.5 and using LR 5.6 I too have this issue. I was under the assumption that the dead areas of my lightroom workspace were where I had previously used brushes but sometimes I do accidentally toggle a second display and perhaps that is what was triggering the dead space. It used to happen to me in the LR4 iterations as well and I had hoped 5 would fix it. I used to restart lightroom to remedy the issue but as much as I use brushes I have to do it frequently. You've got me thinking that it may be related to accidentally hitting the shortcut for second display. Loading the Second Display, moving it out of the way, and closing it worked for me. I'd still love a LR bug fix.
Participating Frequently
October 19, 2014
I've been having trouble with this since switching from LR3 to LR4. It's still happening with LR5.6, and I've run the latest version of OS X though out (currently on 10.9.5, not Yosemite which was released this week). I don't use an external monitor.

I thought it was related to the Map module, because this is where the problem normally manifests itself. I thought the only solution was to restart LR, which sometimes happens every few minutes. I was fed-up!

This happened again several times this evening editing keywords in the Library module's grid view. Having read this page, I've found toggling the Second Display in Loupe view (normal) on and off using Cmd+F11. So far it seems to be working. THANK YOU.
Inspiring
June 7, 2014
Also in LR 5.4 was Mac OS X. With a window open in the second monitor, mouse clicks aren't working (to move the detail closeup using the crosshairs tool or to select multiple photos in gallery).
Inspiring
November 10, 2013
I can confirm this issue still appears in Lightroom 5.2, Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
January 30, 2013
HI Ben,

I'm on OS X 10.8.2.
When I connect the external monitor, the laptop screen is still open (lightroom running) and it goes into dual screen mode (with Lightroom on the laptop screen). At this stage, I put the laptop lid down and it switches automatically (no sleeping) to external monitor only. This is when I have the problem...

thank you,
Cenk
Participating Frequently
January 29, 2013
Hi Cenk,

A couple questions for you:

1. What version of the Mac operating system are you using?
2. When you close the MacBook after launching Lightroom and connecting the monitor, does the MacBook sleep? And you then wake it with an external mouse/keyboard? And after it wakes, you have the problem?

Thanks,
Ben
January 21, 2013
Hi Richard, thanks.

Originally I created this as a standalone topic but it got moved here. The problem seems to be related/similar but not the same, since we are both on v4.3 and I still have this issue.
Inspiring
January 18, 2013
Actually - on rereading my response and your comment - I see you did state you are using v4.3 - so the exact build may not matter.