1

Since upgrading to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, I've noticed that when I open applications from the left-side dock (the Activities/launcher bar), or when I choose "Open in Terminal" from the file manager (Nautilus), the new windows often appear in the background. The focus stays with the previous application, so I have to manually switch to the new window.

This is unexpected and is breaking my workflow, as newly opened windows should come to the foreground and receive focus.

Steps to replicate:

  1. Open, for example, Firefox
  2. Click on the dock Files. If this is the first Nautilus window open, it will show up in the foreground. But if there is already one Nautilus window open, clicking on New Window will launch a new Nautilus window... in the background!

Alternative steps to replicate:

  1. Open a Nautilus window
  2. Right click Open in Terminal — this will launch the new terminal ... in the background!

edit

The answer on this post Gnome New Windows not focused automatically, to use gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences focus-new-windows 'smart' helped for the New window part, but unfortunately not for the Open in Terminal part, which is still opened in the background?

Matifou
  • 786
  • 1
    I wonder is this is relevant: Gnome New Windows not focused automatically – steeldriver Aug 06 '25 at 17:42
  • it is @steeldriver, thanks a lot! See my edit, it fixes the first part, yet not the second part? – Matifou Aug 07 '25 at 07:38
  • I can't solve your problem, but I'm willing to help you tackle your problem. (1) If you don't mind try a clean and fresh install (probably the easiest way) (2) Try observing, what happens while you start, e.g., Nautilus. You can do this with sudo dmesg -w. Maybe this will give you some hints to investigate further. Sadly this are the only tips I can give to you without access to your syslog or corresponding window-manager(wm)-logs. – ActionHOSchT Aug 06 '25 at 12:02

0 Answers0