352745 - Frontmost window changes when you command-tab out of app and back.

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Core Graveyard :: Widget: Mac, defect)

Description

[Not interested in Mozilla any more]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X Mach-O; en-US; rv:1.8.0.6) Gecko/20060729 SeaMonkey/1.0.4
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X Mach-O; en-US; rv:1.8.0.6) Gecko/20060729 SeaMonkey/1.0.4

If you have a compose window in the front and say the mail window and a browser window open also. Then you command-tab to another application, when you command-tab back the browser window jumps to the front.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open a browser window, the mail window and a compose window
2. Bring the compose window to the front
3. Select command-tab on the keyboard to switch apps
4. Select command-tab again to switch back to Seamonkey

Actual Results:  
The browser window is now in the front.

Expected Results:  
The compose window should still be in the front.

It may well happen on other combinations of windows, but that is the one I see most, when I'm copying info into an email from another package.

Comment 1

[Andrew Schultz]

==> widget

Comment 2

[ben]

I also see this problem. However I believe is may be a 'feature'. What actually happens is that when you Apple Tab to change apps, and then apple tab back to Thunderbird, the behaviour depends on where the mouse is:

case 1: mouse not over any thunderbird windows – behaviour is correct and frontmost window returns

case 2: mouse is over frontmost window (in background) - frontmost window again returned in front

case 3: mouse is over a window which was not frontmost when we apple tabbed out of thunderbird - behaviour is weird/incorrect, as this window with the mouse over it is returned top.

I'm not familiar with them, but I think some linux window managers do this sort of thing on purpose. I don't think it is very mac-like though and certainly confused me for quite a while.

Comment 3

[Not interested in Mozilla any more]

This is not a mac thing, it's only Mozilla products. If I open multiple documents in word and apple-tab between that and another application the stacking order is not altered in the slightest. Mozilla should must be doing this deliberatley. It is highly confusing and counter intuitive.

Comment 4

[ben]

Agreed, it is just Mozilla, but it may be deliberate - a hangover from development on other platforms where this is normal behaviour.

It should be changed on the Mac though as it is really annoying when no other apps behave like this.

Comment 5

[Simsimmer]

This is not the only scope of this problem. If you are using spaces on leopard and you use command-tab to select firefox in a different space, the MENU BAR has focus. It is a very very annoying thing if you need to refresh a window often after you changed it's source.