Auto-Focus of input-field after app regains focus

[jwillem]

• I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates

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Bug description

• When switching between chats the input-field is correctly auto-focused. The focus can be withdrawn of the input-field.
• But when I switch the currently used app on my desktop and switch back to signal again, the focus should be automatically set to the input-field of the last conversation which has taken place.
• instead of autofocusing the input-field right then, it would also be possible to select it by starting to type or by pasting from clipboard

Steps to reproduce

• open signal
• open conversation
• prevent focus on input-field
• switch to other desktop-app
• switch to signal back

Actual result: No Input-Field has Focus. (Therefore a User needs to click the input-field to type in it)
Expected result: Input-field of the last conversation should be automatically focused.

Platform info

Operating System: OSX
Browser: Chrome 56.0.2924.87

Signal version: 0.33.0

[mecampbellsoup]

Is there a system for upvoting 👍 issues that we agree with, other than the GitHub reactions? One that the maintainers track and use to help guide the roadmap?

[scottnonnenberg]

Today, the app persists whatever focus you had when you left the app. So if you had the message composition field focused, it will stay focused when you come back. If you had a message highlighted because you wanted to refer back to it as you were doing something, we'll leave that selection in place too.

Can you describe the detailed scenario where you've lost focus on the message composition field, then leave the app, then come back but want it highlighted again? What caused you to lose focus on the message box in the first place?

[mecampbellsoup]

@scottnonnenberg the use case I find annoying can be reproduced by the following:

1. Have both Chrome and Signal Chrome extension app open
2. Make Signal the active application.
3. Use the app-toggling shortcut (CMD + TAB on MacOS) to toggle to Chrome.
4. Notice that you are still focused on Signal, and your Chrome browser has not reclaimed (app-level) focus.
5. Notice that this applies in the reverse direction as well (i.e. Chrome is active; you attempt to toggle to Signal app but it does not reclaim 'active app', instead Chrome is still active).

I think this may be a consequence of Chrome extension behavior, not Signal-specific.

[scottnonnenberg]

@mecampbellsoup Thanks for the additional detail. Yes, there is absolutely some Chrome App windowing weirdness. But I've found that when I do get back to the right Signal App (I sometimes have 4 or more running!), the focus is still in the right place.

[mecampbellsoup]

@jwillem are you still able to reproduce this issue? What do you mean by...

prevent focus on input-field

?

[jwillem]

Sorry, I’ve meant that you click outside of the input, so that the caret loses focus.

…

On 26. Jul 2017, at 19:42, Matt Campbell ***@***.***> wrote: @jwillem <https://github.com/jwillem> are you still able to reproduce this issue? What do you mean by... prevent focus on input-field ? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1096 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AH18FB5yPSTIUW5lMIUAzC8752kIBbL1ks5sR3qNgaJpZM4Mg7PC>.

[jwillem]

The focus is preserved in fact, but only if the input field had focus before.

[scottnonnenberg]

@jwillem I went back in and tried your detailed scenario, couldn't get it to happen. If I've clicked outside of the message composition text box, I can still hit tab to eventually get there.

So I'm wondering if there are other factors involved here. How did you start the app? Did you start Signal from Mission Control? Or the chrome://apps tab? Somewhere else?

[jwillem]

I can still hit tab to eventually get there.

This is what I find annoying. In my opinion the input-filed should be auto-selected, if typing occurs. At least Telegram has it that way.

[tosh]

I'm not sure if this is the right place or if I should create a new ticket:

When you look at the behaviour of Telegram, WhatsApp, Messenger (desktop and or web apps) they all not only make sure that after switching to a new thread the input field is focused but also that clicking somewhere into the message log of the current thread the focus actually stays with the input field (or at least that it immediately regains focus upon starting to type).

I think the above behaviour is the expected and sensible one unless there is a very good reason not to behave like this. I also recall that some of the messaging apps I've been using (might also have been Slack) did not originally behave like this and it left me with the impression that their UX is 'bad' without being able to pinpoint why I had the feeling (until I noticed the described behaviour eventually).

I think this is a huge (ux-)issue especially for people who are used to the other very popular messaging apps and should be (re-) prioritized if possible.

[jwillem]

👍

[jeremywohl]

#1416

[jiripospisil]

One other scenario I hit constantly is when somebody sends me a link and I want to reply right after seeing it. I switch back the app and start typing only to realize the focus is still in the conversation area and I'm not typing anything. I've become accustomed to double tap tab to bring the focus into the input field but that's obviously far from ideal.

A simple solution (solving at least my use case) would be to add a check when the app regains focus. The callback would check whether there's some text selected (highlighted) in the conversation area. If so, do nothing. Otherwise focus the input field.

[sawtoothwave]

Just chiming in to say I noticed a similar UX hiccup when clicking into the conversational area removes the focus of the text input box. Compare to, say, Google Hangouts, where any click within anywhere pertaining to the conversation still leaves the cursor in the text box active. An example is if you click to a link your conversation partner has sent you, view the link in a browser, and then alt-tab or command-tab to return back to Signal, the "conversation" is active but the text input field is not, and you have to manually re-select the input box in order to re-engage in conversation. I think the Hangouts way of doing it, where there's no such thing as an "active" conversation - you can engage to highlight and copy text, to clink on links, but your focus doesn't persist there - is ideal for me as a user. Thanks!

[ilinojkovic]

Is there any ETA on this? Should this be on the roadmap? In my opinion, it is quite big UI bug, which could sway newcomers away from the platform.

[kennu]

Hello from 2018. I have made a PR that attempts to fix this issue: #2885

It simply autofocuses the text input when the conversation view is focused, unless a panel or audio capture is active.