progress windows steal focus

[Rob Tirrell]

Binary package hint: update-manager

The 'Applying Changes' window interrupts work after all the package files have been downloaded and steals focus if not keystrokes.
It would make more sense to integrate this into the main window. There is also a dialog raised on program startup, 'Examining System', and a 'Downloading Package Files' dialog after 'Install Updates' is selected, both of which could be integrated into some sort of status area in the main window.

[Sebastian Heinlein (glatzor)]

So the problem is the focus stealing and not the progress windows.

The focus stealing issue seems to be a window manager problem, since the progress dialogs are provided by a different application.

You also have to consider that the application is also used on slow systems. And updating the cache takes longer than 10 seconds on these machines. That is why I am in favor of a progress dialog.

I would like to hide the progress dialogs at all: See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BackgroundPackageInstallation

Space is rare in the main window and changing widgets in runtime is not nice for people using screen readers.

Furthermore there are also technincal reasons why a status bar could not be used.

[Andreas Lloyd (lloydinho)]

Changing the bug to metacity, as it a focus stealing issue with the window manager.

As long as the update manager continues to have a separate process bar window, this bug belongs there.

[Andreas Lloyd (lloydinho)]

Um. After talking to Seb, I found out that the described behaviour is standard and predictable Metacity behaviour. So it is indeed a update-manager problem, and in that case it sounds like a Won'tFix bug at the moment.

I'll subscribe Michael Vogt, the update-manager developer, he'll have to make a decision on this.

[Sebastian Heinlein (glatzor)]

Hi Andreas, this issue has been around for several monthes now. And mvo is already aware of it. We tried a lot to fix it or to find a workaround. Perhaps you will also find a lot of duplicates in the update-manager bug archives :)

[MrHaroldA (mrharolda)]

This also occurs on Xfce, even with 'focus stealing prevention' on.

It's really annoying to constantly have those progress and status windows flickering on top and stealing keyboard input! It's in fact the most not-honouring-focus application on Gutsy I use...

-H-