diff --git a/web/client/components/catalog/Catalog.jsx b/web/client/components/catalog/Catalog.jsx
index 250d3f667d..4da6e46246 100644
--- a/web/client/components/catalog/Catalog.jsx
+++ b/web/client/components/catalog/Catalog.jsx
@@ -17,8 +17,10 @@ const RecordGrid = require('./RecordGrid');
 
 const Catalog = React.createClass({
     propTypes: {
+        active: React.PropTypes.bool,
         formats: React.PropTypes.array,
         format: React.PropTypes.string,
+        searchOnStarup: React.PropTypes.bool,
         onSearch: React.PropTypes.func,
         onChangeFormat: React.PropTypes.func,
         onLayerAdd: React.PropTypes.func,
@@ -69,7 +71,9 @@ const Catalog = React.createClass({
         };
     },
     componentDidMount() {
-        this.refs.searchText.getInputDOMNode().focus();
+        if (this.props.searchOnStarup) {
+            this.props.onSearch(this.props.format, this.getCatalogUrl(), 1, this.props.pageSize, "");
+        }
     },
     componentWillReceiveProps(nextProps) {
         if (nextProps !== this.props) {
diff --git a/web/client/localConfig.json b/web/client/localConfig.json
index 63896f202d..e482031ed4 100644
--- a/web/client/localConfig.json
+++ b/web/client/localConfig.json
@@ -400,6 +400,7 @@
 					"showGetCapLinks": false,
 					"addAuthentication": false,
 					"wrap": true,
+					"searchOnStarup": true,
 					"wrapWithPanel": false,
 					"closeGlyph": "1-close",
 					"initialCatalogURL": {
diff --git a/web/client/plugins/MetadataExplorer.jsx b/web/client/plugins/MetadataExplorer.jsx
index 004068270f..39734f9c22 100644
--- a/web/client/plugins/MetadataExplorer.jsx
+++ b/web/client/plugins/MetadataExplorer.jsx
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ const MetadataExplorerComponent = React.createClass({
     propTypes: {
         id: React.PropTypes.string,
         active: React.PropTypes.bool,
+        searchOnStarup: React.PropTypes.bool,
         formats: React.PropTypes.array,
         wrap: React.PropTypes.bool,
         wrapWithPanel: React.PropTypes.bool,
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ const MetadataExplorerComponent = React.createClass({
         };
     },
     render() {
-        const panel = <div role="body" className="modal_window"><Catalog {...this.props}/></div>;
+        const panel = <div role="body" className="modal_window"><Catalog searchOnStarup={this.props.searchOnStarup} active={this.props.active} {...this.props}/></div>;
         if (this.props.wrap) {
             if (this.props.active) {
                 if (this.props.wrapWithPanel) {