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

[umpfgrmbl]

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?

[Michael_PCC]

Same issue here; it's very annoying. After reading this and seeing there's no solution, I submitted it as a bug report and suggest others do the same. Here's the link to do that: Feature Request/Bug Report Form

[davids30754423]

Also happening to me on a new installation of Windows 10 and the latest version of photoshop CC installed via creative cloud. It did not do it in previous versions for me, only this latest release.

Once I open photoshop if I try to alt-tab away from that window before it has completely finished loading it will continuously grab the focus back.

It takes around 11 seconds for it to fully load on my system and whilst that might not be that long its extremely annoying just having to stop, wait and do nothing whilst it loads.

Hope it gets fixed soon.

[freezingkiwis]

Annoys me too. I regularly open/close Photoshop and often deal with 10+ Lightroom catalogues during a day, and EVERY.SINGLE.DAMN.TIME I try to use other applications whilst I'm waiting, and find myself using alt-tab at least 3 times during the lengthy load.

I could write a novella on the ways LR annoys me, and this would be #1.

Didn't happen in earlier versions, guaranteed. Feels like it's a CC thing?

Also, Windows 8.

[AdrianWarren]

This is happening to me too, but only since I upgraded to CC2017. Photoshop CC2015 was fine, but even the latest version of CC2017 focus steals at least four times every times it starts up. It's very very annoying. I don't have it set to show recent files.

Photoshop CC2015 didn't have this behaviour on my system. Both CC2017 initial release version, and CC2017.0.1 both have this bug.

I also have Photoshop CS6 installed.

Windows 10 Home (x64), upgraded from Windows 7 (x64).

Holographic2020: Not true. Adobe products are the only ones I have exhibiting this behaviour, and for me it's only been an issue since I upgraded to CC2017. Previous versions of Photoshop didn't have it.

[colinappleyard]

Also happening to me, on my work PC and home PC - both running 64bit Windows 7. But only seems to happen with Photoshop for me. Illustrator, Premiere and Bridge all start up perfectly fine in the background.

Drives me mad, when I'm trying to be productive by multi-tasking!

[Guest]

Adding my name to the list. Every goddamn time. I have to alt-tab multiple times and when I'm in a flow state it always zaps me out. None of my other software does this, just various Adobe apps, Photoshop being the worst.

Latest Windows 10 public release, latest updates applied as of today.

[sufisamwise]

I had the very same question, which I posted here in the forums. No other application on my laptop ever does this. I've also received some of the same responses that you're receiving now, however the most helpful one I've yet received appears to be from a poster named Trevor Dennis. Here's what he had to say:

First of all, he says that it is a known issue, and will hopefully be addressed in the next update: which would suggest it's not just something unique to your system.

Then he says: "What you could do as a (very) clunky workaround until then (the next update), is to minimize Photoshop before exiting to a part (or smaller) screen state...  It will remember that when next started, so it will then be easy to click on the full screen window behind it.  When fully open, hit the maximize icon. It's rough and dirty, but the best I can think of."

Of all the people who responded to me, his advice was the only one that actually gave me a practical solution that I could use right away, imperfect though it is. And it may well be the best possible solution for all those times when you simply don't have the time to wait for PS to boot up while you make coffee... at least until Adobe fixes the problem.

See if it works for you.

[joelj43300278]

Same here - and on multiple computers. I use Photoshop CC 2017 the most, but it happens with every Adobe CC product I use. When you launch the app and switch to another app while it loads, the Adobe app will steal focus away and put itself into the foreground.

[ionfish]

While looking for solutions to this issue I landed here.

So yeah, same problem here on Windows 10 and latest version of PS and other apps.

REALLY annoying and distracting.

[creative_cloud_n52888992]

You have my cursor ! +1

[FredA_R]

Like some others above, adding my voice to this screen-focus-tyranny.

Ridiculous that Adobe gets away with this.

[nssignarama]

I'm experiencing the same issue since upgrading to a new computer with Windows 10 and upgrading to Photoshop 2017. Every time I start Photoshop, once it's nearly done loading it steals the focus 5-6 times while I keep trying to Alt-Tab back to whatever other app I'm trying to use. I don't recall experiencing this on the old Windows 7 PC with older CC versions.

[Artem Russakovskii]

I'm experiencing this issue with Windows 10 and Photoshop CC 2017.0.1. It's is absolutely infuriating. The PC is relatively fast (Skylake, 32GB of RAM), yet Photoshop takes 10+s to start, and during this time it steals focus from any other window, immediately popping up in its place.

FIX IT, Adobe!

[Steve Werner]

This is the InDesign forum. Please post in the Photoshop forum.

Time to switch to a Mac? [ducking and running]

[Artem Russakovskii]

It seems to affect the whole suite, not just Photoshop.

I did find the following helpful links:

Photoshop: When launching Photoshop it recurringly takes focus from another application/task (Window...

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2249998

So Adobe is at least aware and working on a fix.

[Steve Werner]

Good news that the engineers are working on the issue.

[Eduard_Shcherbanev]

Wow! Really? Is it possible to supervise the process somehow?

[LMn0P]

Thanks for the photoshop similar link.   I've seen it happening steady with photoshop and occasionally with InDesign.  Photoshop is definitely more egregious and consistent about it for me.   So these great programs take a while to load, sync libraries and whatever else it takes to be ready.  That's fine because they are all useful.  But meanwhile, we would like to carry on with our multitasking versus having to go take a coffee break.  So I understand the complaint and request to fix this or give us a choice somewhere to turn that overwhelming need for focus off.

[LMn0P]

I should say, I think a recent update has maybe helped this issue a bit.  Instead of up to 4 or 5 forced focus flashbacks like it used to be while starting up; it seems to be down to one time for me now while working in some other apps.  For example, while in Microsoft apps PS/Ind only popping up once when completely ready now.  Not sure if that's true when working in all other apps yet.  Once, when it's really ready to be used, is less of an annoyance.  I'm hoping that holds.

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

Funny Steve! Before I read any of this, that was my first thought.

[DieterDubai]

I have windows 10 running but do not experience this , are you short in RAM or swap HDD or do you have a virus ?

[use3982stock]

As a former programmer, I can tell you that this was done on purpose. Back in Win95, there was a single call something like getfocus() and the app comes to the top. People abused it and by year 2000 windows no longer let apps come to top but just flashed the taskbar when that was called. Remember WinXP where the taskbar buttons flash orange?

Then later dodgy operators use stayontop() on and off and a bunch of other calls to simulate activating the window. It was done by MS office even. Then by around 2005 it was considered lame and rude to the user to do this. MS kept adding new things to prevent programs from taking focus so rudely in each version of windows.

Fast forward to 10 years ago in 2007 I don't think a single major software brand tried to annoy users anymore like this. Even splash screens, which used to be stayontop were not anymore. Even the old PS and LR didn't steal focus as I remember.

So I only started using CC in 2015, and it's really annoying. I can tell you for a fact that the engineers are NOT working on the issue. In fact the engineers have worked VERY HARD to be able to steal focus. Not only once, but 4-5 times during startup. It's not an accident, they HAD TO CALL THEIR MAGIC CODE EACH TIME to steal focus.

If they wanted they'd take 5 lines of code out. It would take one global search and maybe 30s of time.

----------SUMMARY--------

PROGRAMS DO NOT ACCIDENTALLY STEAL FOCUS. They work hard to get it (stealing focus) to work. Even MS office, with all access to secret windows libraries do NOT steal focus. Adobe is the ONLY major company now that loves stealing focus, not only that, 5 times for 20s it takes to load up everything.

Shame on you adobe.

[umpfgrmbl]

That is exactly what I (programmer too) think! Thank you for the words...

[Bérenger_L_]

Exactly my thought. It's driving me crazy, I want to multitask but no, Adobe softs must show up and waste 10 seconds for loading properly...

[FredA_R]

"PROGRAMS DO NOT ACCIDENTALLY STEAL FOCUS. They work hard to get it (stealing focus) to work. Even MS office, with all access to secret windows libraries do NOT steal focus. Adobe is the ONLY major company now that loves stealing focus, not only that, 5 times for 20s it takes to load up everything.

Shame on you adobe."

— Wow. That's so well closed. There's no point bickering about this anymore, guys.

I get the feeling @use3982stock (why that phrase?) knows what he's talking about.