Unity places the wrong window to the foreground when focused from dock

[Andrew]

Open 2 instances of an application from the unity dock:
1) click the "Home Folder" icon
2) Middle-click the "Home Folder" icon to start a new window
3) change to a different running application
4) click the "Home Folder" icon

Note that the correct nautilus receives the focus, but the one without the focus is foremost and the focused one is in the background. The focused window should be brought to the top.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: unity 3.8.16-0ubuntu1~natty1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-11.47-generic 2.6.38.8
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-11-generic x86_64
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,compiztoolbox,decor,resize,gnomecompat,vpswitch,move,place,mousepoll,regex,grid,text,imgpng,animation,unitymtgrabhandles,resizeinfo,session,workarounds,wall,expo,ezoom,staticswitcher,fade,scale,scaleaddon,unityshell]
Date: Wed Jul 20 12:48:14 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Release amd64 (20110427.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:en
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Brendan Donegan (brendan-donegan)]

This is one of those issues that is hard to pinpoint, but still somehow interferes with the overall user experience. This is still reproducible even on Oneiric.

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[mrpotato (estoyhartodeponernombres)]

It happens to me with pidgin, for example. The behaviour it's just random. Sometimes the window that had the focus is showed above, sometimes below, and sometimes I even get the compiz scale add-on thing to choose.

[Martin Hofmann (dhreath)]

For me, this happens constantly with all applications (11.04, 64bit)

[Xavier Guillot (valeryan-24)]

This happens also to me often with various applications, but not only when focused from dock, also when a window automatically loads in foreground, but focus remains on the previous one seen.

Some examples and screenshots :

I run a program, ie Firefox, in a maximized window, triangle in the right side of Unity dock, which indicates the focused application, is well put on Firefox icon.

If, just before switching to Firefox, I've run Update Manager or Synaptic to download some packages, manually switched to Firefox, at the time downloads (or update verification) are finished and packages begin to install (or if there is a partial update available), Synaptic (or Update Manager) comes himself in foreground (without I click on its icon).

But the right triangle remains on Firefox icon. So, a click on Firefox icon to go back on Firefox does not do anything, as default behavior in Unity, when an application is selected, is that click on its icon does nothing.

So I have to manually click somewhere in the Synaptic window (to focus Synaptic) or to an icon other than Firefox to select this program, and again click to Firefox icon to come back to Firefox !

Other problem, global menu is the one from Firefox, and if I click on the left"X" icon to close Synaptic, it's Firefox which closes as it is focused...

Another example :

Same thing if I have Firefox reduced, Gwibber maximized. If I click on a link in a tweet, Firefox reappears automatically maximized in foreground, but triangle on Unity dock remains on Gwibber, same problems of selecting / focusing / global menu / closing...

[Xavier Guillot (valeryan-24)]

Screenshot with Gwibber and Firefox

[Dave Nice (dave-niceweb)]

The reproduction instructions are pretty much identical to 802527 - marking as a duplicate.

[Xavier Guillot (valeryan-24)]

Bug still present for me after the last updates (seems little different than bug 796513 which is marked fixed).

It also happens when :

- I do some podcasts downloads with Gpodder, go to another application (ie Firefox), sometimes Gpodder opens antother window (to tell there are updates available, or some errors in the downloads) but focus remains on Firefox. Even if I just click on "OK" on Gpodder window, if I do not click everywhere else in Gpodder, the maximized window in foreground is Gpodder but focus is on Firefox...

- I have Firefox and Bookmarks manager opened, so 2 windows for Firefox, both maximized, and I'm on the navigation widow.

I open gedit, maximized, it appears on front and takes the focus, I write on it, let it opened and go back to Firefox navigation window with one left click to Firefox icon in Unity dock.

Here, if I minimize Firefox with the "-" button in global menu, I see on the screen the maximized window of Firefow Bookmark Manager, but the focus (and right triangle on dock), has gone to gedit.

If I click to gedit icon, nothing happens, which is normal, it has the focus. If I click on the Firefox icon or everywhere in the window of Bookmark Manager, focus goes back to Firefox Window Manager...