Window focus is a mess in W11


I couldn't find anything that still works on current Windows 10/11, so I wrote a small free tool for this: NoFocusSteal (GitHub - BoazCohenJ/NoFocusSteal: Stop apps from stealing focus on Windows, and find out which app keeps doing it. Tiny tray app, no install, no DLL injection.). Disclosure: I'm the author.

It runs in the tray. If another app grabs focus while you're typing, it puts focus straight back into your window, usually within a few dozen milliseconds, and flashes the other app's taskbar button instead so you can switch to it when you want. Things you do yourself (clicking, Alt+Tab, Win-key shortcuts, dialogs, the Start menu) aren't affected. There's also a Strict mode that blocks anything you didn't click or press for, and a log of every focus change showing the exe responsible.

It's a single ~100 KB exe with no installer, no DLL injection and no network access, and it's MIT licensed. The log window has a "Test it" button that shows it blocking a test window.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
I couldn't find anything that still works on current Windows 10/11, so I wrote a small free tool for this: NoFocusSteal (GitHub - BoazCohenJ/NoFocusSteal: Stop apps from stealing focus on Windows, and find out which app keeps doing it. Tiny tray app, no install, no DLL injection.). Disclosure: I'm the author.

It runs in the tray. If another app grabs focus while you're typing, it puts focus straight back into your window, usually within a few dozen milliseconds, and flashes the other app's taskbar button instead so you can switch to it when you want. Things you do yourself (clicking, Alt+Tab, Win-key shortcuts, dialogs, the Start menu) aren't affected. There's also a Strict mode that blocks anything you didn't click or press for, and a log of every focus change showing the exe responsible.

It's a single ~100 KB exe with no installer, no DLL injection and no network access, and it's MIT licensed. The log window has a "Test it" button that shows it blocking a test window.

Testing it now and it seems to be working pretty well. Does it log your keystrokes?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel Core Ultra 7 255H32GB DDR5 SDRAMIntel Arc 140T Arrow Lake 8XE
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo/Thinkpad P14s Intel g6
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 7 255H
Motherboard
LENOVO 21QTCTO1WW
Memory
32GB DDR5 SDRAM
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Arc 140T Arrow Lake 8XE
Sound Card
Intel Arrow Lake-U/H PCH
Back
Top Bottom