GNU bug report logs - #2025
23.0.60; emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening

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Message #5 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>
To: emacs-pretest-bug <at> gnu.org
Subject: 23.0.60; emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:16:51 +0100

If I use server-start, then frames opened by `emacsclient -c' do not
automatically get desktop focus:

emacs -Q -f server-start
emacsclient -c
=> The frame that appears does not have desktop focus (rather, the xterm
window still has focus).

This contrasts with using --daemon:

emacs -Q --daemon
emacsclient -c
=> The frame that appears has desktop focus

I think the server-start case is a user interface bug; the frame should
get focus as it does with --daemon.

In GNU Emacs 23.0.60.30 (i686-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.14.4)
 of 2009-01-21 on escher
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.10502000

Message #8 received at 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
To: Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>
Cc: 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:48:00 -0400

Stephen Berman wrote:

> If I use server-start, then frames opened by `emacsclient -c' do not
> automatically get desktop focus:
>
> emacs -Q -f server-start
> emacsclient -c
> => The frame that appears does not have desktop focus (rather, the xterm
> window still has focus).

I cannot reproduce this. Do you still see it?
(I know nothing about this; doesn't the window manager have some control
over it?)

Message #11 received at 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>
To: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:31:31 +0200

On Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:48:00 -0400 Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org> wrote:

> Stephen Berman wrote:
>
>> If I use server-start, then frames opened by `emacsclient -c' do not
>> automatically get desktop focus:
>>
>> emacs -Q -f server-start
>> emacsclient -c
>> => The frame that appears does not have desktop focus (rather, the xterm
>> window still has focus).
>
> I cannot reproduce this. Do you still see it?

Yes; however, ...

> (I know nothing about this; doesn't the window manager have some control
> over it?)

Apparently, though I didn't think to test this in my OP.  But now I see
this problem with KWin (currently KDE 4.7.1, on openSUSE 11.4), starting
Emacs either from Konsole or Xterm, but not with IceWM (I don't have
Gnome on this system).

Also, my recipe was a bit imprecise: either the first line should end
with `&' or you have to background the process to invoke emacsclient.
Moreover, I see a peculiar difference between Konsole and Xterm on KWin:
Invoking `emacs -Q -f server-start' (with or without '&') from Konsole
opens a frame which gets focus, but when invoked from Xterm, this frame,
too, does not get focus.  Whereas with both terminal emulators, frames
opened by `emacsclient -c' fail to get focus.

Again, this is after initially starting Emacs with server-start; as my
OP noted, starting with --daemon, subsequent invocations of `emacsclient
-c' do open a frame with focus -- at least when invoked from Konsole:
with Xterm there seems to be some kind of race condition, because
sometimes the frame gets focus, sometimes it doesn't.

Anyway, it looks like this may not be a problem that can be solved by
Emacs, so I suppose this bug can be closed.

Steve Berman

Message #14 received at 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
To: Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>
Cc: 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:15:58 -0400

Stephen Berman wrote:

> Anyway, it looks like this may not be a problem that can be solved by
> Emacs, so I suppose this bug can be closed.

Maybe someone who knows about these things (window manager hints etc?)
could comment...

[looks around hopefully for Jan D.]

Message #17 received at 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Jan Djärv <jan.h.d <at> swipnet.se>
To: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>, 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:54:46 +0200

Glenn Morris skrev 2011-10-05 19:15:
> Stephen Berman wrote:
>
>> Anyway, it looks like this may not be a problem that can be solved by
>> Emacs, so I suppose this bug can be closed.
>
> Maybe someone who knows about these things (window manager hints etc?)
> could comment...
>
> [looks around hopefully for Jan D.]
>
>

A hint is just a hint, the WM may do as it please anyway.  It is considered 
bad behaviour to try to steal input focus when started.  It should depend on 
what policy the user has set, focus-follows-mouse or click-to-focus.

If Emacs is started with focus-follows-mouse and the mouse isn't in a frame, I 
would expect Emacs not to have focus.  However, some WMs warp the mouse to 
newly started applications.  For click-to-focus I think the WM just does what 
it thinks is best.  Some WMs have a setting ("give focus to new window") which 
the user can use to influence this.

So to conclude, if Emacs where to try do anything, there are window managers 
where this would fail anyway.  Better if the OP can get KWin to behave.  Maybe 
there is some option for this in KWin.

	Jan D.

Message #24 received at 2025-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
To: 2025-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:33:01 -0400

tags 2025 notabug wontfix
stop

It sounds like there is nothing to be done on the Emacs end, so I will
close this.

Message #27 received at 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
To: Jan Djärv <jan.h.d <at> swipnet.se>
Cc: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>, Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>,
	2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:50:42 -0400

Jan Djärv <jan.h.d <at> swipnet.se> writes:

> A hint is just a hint, the WM may do as it please anyway.  It is
> considered bad behaviour to try to steal input focus when started.  It
> should depend on what policy the user has set, focus-follows-mouse or
> click-to-focus.
>
> If Emacs is started with focus-follows-mouse and the mouse isn't in a
> frame, I would expect Emacs not to have focus.  However, some WMs warp
> the mouse to newly started applications.  For click-to-focus I think
> the WM just does what it thinks is best.  Some WMs have a setting
> ("give focus to new window") which the user can use to influence this.
>
> So to conclude, if Emacs where to try do anything, there are window
> managers where this would fail anyway.  Better if the OP can get KWin
> to behave.  Maybe there is some option for this in KWin.

According to teh Google, the Kwin setting in question is called "focus
stealing prevention level", which should be set to "none" to allow
newly-launched applications to acquire focus.

Message #30 received at 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stephen Berman <stephen.berman <at> gmx.net>
To: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
Cc: Jan Djärv <jan.h.d <at> swipnet.se>, 2025 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#2025: 23.0.60;
	emacsclient: frame does not get focus on opening
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:19:31 +0200

On Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:50:42 -0400 Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com> wrote:

> Jan Djärv <jan.h.d <at> swipnet.se> writes:
>
>> A hint is just a hint, the WM may do as it please anyway.  It is
>> considered bad behaviour to try to steal input focus when started.  It
>> should depend on what policy the user has set, focus-follows-mouse or
>> click-to-focus.
>>
>> If Emacs is started with focus-follows-mouse and the mouse isn't in a
>> frame, I would expect Emacs not to have focus.  However, some WMs warp
>> the mouse to newly started applications.  For click-to-focus I think
>> the WM just does what it thinks is best.  Some WMs have a setting
>> ("give focus to new window") which the user can use to influence this.
>>
>> So to conclude, if Emacs where to try do anything, there are window
>> managers where this would fail anyway.  Better if the OP can get KWin
>> to behave.  Maybe there is some option for this in KWin.
>
> According to teh Google, the Kwin setting in question is called "focus
> stealing prevention level", which should be set to "none" to allow
> newly-launched applications to acquire focus.

You beat me to the punch :-).  That indeed seems to do the trick.
(Maybe I should take more time to learn about KWin -- but that would
mean having less time to spend on Emacs...)

Steve Berman

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