UI/Window management issue

[hla]

Quick info: I'm reporting it now, though it was also present in earlier versions, it might be that I'm using the apps more...

# Window focus stealing

Report: The issue is with switch "out from the application", but only sporadically...

I work in TextMaker, and then click the Windows taskbar to go to another app to continue working
(for instance proofreading my book, fixing text in both the prepared for print PDF and my source text in TextMaker)

and sometimes when I try to type into the other app's window, the TextMaker window returns focus to itself and pulls itself forward, like it still is waiting/has some kind of a lock on caret/mouse input in the system (Windows 11), and then it takes 1-2 clicks on the taskbar to refocus back to the other application.

I've actually been able to "reproduce" it again while typing this by simply copy-pasting bits of text from TextMaker to LO Writer...

It might be related to "tooltips" because sometimes after I switch to the other app I can see some random tooltip, there are various one being displayed (linked to probably where I had my mouse last inside TextMaker window), but just now I got "Current chapter" being displayed on my screen above the LibreOffice Writer window (while this being the exlusive maximized and focused window on my system), and when I click that tooltip, focus gets pulled to the TextMaker application, and it replaces LO on my screen (not what should happen obviously since at that time I want to work in LO).

# Quick Access toolbar save/undo button glitch

Additionally, sometimes (on first launch sometimes) or after a random number of times, when I try to click the Save button on the qucik access toolbar, the "Undo" button (to the right of the Save button) actually highlights as if it had been pressed, and that seems to occur more often also after switching between apps. Try clicking the Save button on the toolbar on some random file, swithcing between apps, you'll be able to reproduce both I presume, just be patient until the issue appears...

Would be nice to be able to hide the quick access toolbar altogether also.

# Parting text
Bought the latest version, loving it thus far, thanks for the colors and themes!

[Hook]

Have you tried using a different mouse? Does anything like this happen in other programs? It almost sounds like the mouse isn't clicking where you think it is clicking.

[hla]

It's not a mouse. Only time this happens is when using Softmaker tools (either Planmaker or Textmaker), at other times there are no focus/windowing issues. I've been developing for Windows since 1997, from 2006 professionally. My "spidey sense" tells me this is a software issue...

[CountMountjoy]

I am seeing exactly the the same thing. I remember this happening a few years ago, but it went away. Just started seeing it again recently. I'm running TextMaker 2024 (rev S1234.0411) 64bit. Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit Version 25H2.

[Woody44]

If I understand this complaint correctly, I think this is normal operation for Windows. I often work with two documents open in two adjacent windows -- such as a PDF source document, and a word processing document into which I may be copying and pasting selections from the PDF. It doesn't matter of the word processor is TextMaker, Word, or LibreOffice Writer. I need to click in the word processor window TWICE before I can type or paste.

Once I have put the cursor in the PDF window, thus making that the active window (whether I just scroll in it or if I highlight some text and copy it), the first time I click back in the word processor window just makes that the active window again. I have to click a second tme to place the cursor where I want it and start typing (or pasting).

I don't think this is a problem with TextMaker. I think this is normal Windows behavior.

[hla]

Thanks for the reply, Woody44, but that’s actually a different scenario than the issue I'm reporting.

What you are describing is standard Windows behavior when working with two non-maximized windows side-by-side (where the first click focuses the window and the second places the caret).

The issue I reported is about window focus stealing and tooltip rendering artifacts. I work with maximized applications (LibreOffice Writer covers 100% of the screen). While I am actively typing or working in Writer, TextMaker suddenly pulls itself to the foreground on its own, completely covering Writer without me clicking on TextMaker at all.

Orphaned tooltips from TextMaker (like "Current chapter") remain rendered on top of other maximized applications. Clicking a tooltip that belongs to TextMaker forcefully activates TextMaker and brings it forward.

The Quick Access toolbar glitch (where clicking Save highlights Undo) happens within TextMaker's own UI after app-switching, which is a UI event/rendering bug, not Windows window-management behavior.

dev stuff:
It looks like background tooltips/popups might be missing the WS_EX_NOACTIVATE extended window style (or equivalent flag in the GUI framework being used, such as Qt/MFC). If a tooltip renders or updates state while the app is in the background, Windows treats it as a focusable window event, causing TextMaker to forcibly pull itself to the foreground and steal focus from other maximized apps.

The Quick Access toolbar misfire (clicking Save triggering Undo visual rendering artifact, not actually performing the action) likely happens because the mouse coordinate translation or hit-testing logic doesn't re-synchronize properly after the window loses and regains focus (DPI scaling / frame coordinate cache issue).

[Woody44]

Well, that would be annoying.

I wonder if it might be a hardware (graphics card, or graphics driver) issue. I'm not a computer tech, but I believe I recall several years ago having to install a third-party graphics card into a Dell Optiplex desktop computer to address an issue that (again, based on fuzzy memory) was similar.

I also remember (more clearly) that I had to try two graphics cards before I found one that worked correctly. (The original setup was Intel graphics integrated on the motherboard).

As it happens, I have LibreOffice installed on this computer (a Dell Inspiron ####) along with SoftMaker Office 2026 Pro. I just opened both LibreOffice Writer and TextMaker, set them both to full-screen, and switched back and forth several times. There were no artifacts from either program carried over to the other.