439971 - [RFE] Option: When focus is in password field, enable focus-stealing prevention

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Core :: Widget, enhancement)

Description

[Robert Rothenberg]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux x86_64; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.14) Gecko/20080418 Ubuntu/8.04 (hardy) Firefox/2.0.0.14
Build Identifier: N/A

While I am entering a password in a web page (e.g. to log in to some webmail site), it is frustrating to have another application stel the focus from Firefox.

Why not have an option to (if the OS or desktop environment supports it) prevent focus-stealing while one is focused in a password field in a webform?





Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Visit a website with a login (e.g. yahoo.com)
2. Enter username, and then move focus to the password field
3. Launch another application which will steal keyboard focus (e.g. a text editor)
4. Before application starts, go back to the password field and begin typing
   slowly
Actual Results:  
The application steals keyboard focus while you are typing a password.

Expected Results:  
The application should not steal focus while I am still in the password field.

Comment 1

[Neil Deakin]

> Steps to Reproduce:
> 1. Visit a website with a login (e.g. yahoo.com)
> 2. Enter username, and then move focus to the password field
> 3. Launch another application which will steal keyboard focus (e.g. a text
> editor)

Well, we don't really have any control over what over applications or the operating system does, so there isn't any means of fixing that.

Is there some specific case where firefox moves the focus when it is undesired? 

Comment 2

[Robert Rothenberg]

(In reply to comment #1)

> Well, we don't really have any control over what over applications or the
> operating system does, so there isn't any means of fixing that.

I was under the impression that there were OS hooks that one could use to prevent focus stealing for a critical window. For example, gksudo in Gnome seems to be able to prevent windows from stealking the focus.

There's probably a way that Firefox can detect when focus is lost to a Window while focus is a password field (or any text field, for that matter). It might be worth an experimental option that recognizes this, and beeps a warning and tries to steal it back (but only does this a couple of times to prevent a permanent loop, or in case the user intentionally switched focus to something else. 

Comment 3

[Michael T]

It would be very nice if one Firefox password prompt did not steal the focus from another, as can happen if one starts Firefox with several tabs open, and several of those require entering passwords.

Comment 4

[a.moosavi]

(In reply to comment #1)

> Well, we don't really have any control over what over applications or the
> operating system does, so there isn't any means of fixing that.
> 
> Is there some specific case where firefox moves the focus when it is undesired? 

Yes, there is. See  Bug 487786