From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

I must then click the dialog to give it focus.

Is it possible (1) to make the focus go automatically to the
modal dialog if present? (2) to get the focus to the dialog
via the keyboard?
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 10.10.2025 um 08:07 schrieb Mark Summerfield:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

I must then click the dialog to give it focus.

Is it possible (1) to make the focus go automatically to the
modal dialog if present? (2) to get the focus to the dialog
via the keyboard?

grab -global $toplevel
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

On Fri, 10 Oct 2025 09:58:35 +0200, Harald Oehlmann wrote:

Am 10.10.2025 um 08:07 schrieb Mark Summerfield:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

I must then click the dialog to give it focus.

Is it possible (1) to make the focus go automatically to the
modal dialog if present? (2) to get the focus to the dialog
via the keyboard?

grab -global $toplevel

I never use grab -global because of the warning in the documentation: https://www.tcl-lang.org/man/tcl9.0/TkCmd/grab.html#M10
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl


Mark Summerfield <m.n.summerfield@gmail.com> posted:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

I must then click the dialog to give it focus.

Is it possible (1) to make the focus go automatically to the
modal dialog if present? (2) to get the focus to the dialog
via the keyboard?

Hi,
for that purpose I use wigdet dialog from Tk Lib, and there's no issue like that.

++
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 10.10.25 um 08:07 schrieb Mark Summerfield:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

I must then click the dialog to give it focus.

Is it possible (1) to make the focus go automatically to the
modal dialog if present? (2) to get the focus to the dialog
via the keyboard?

Look up wm transient https://www.tcl-lang.org/man/tcl8.4/TkCmd/wm.htm#M45

Christian
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Harald Oehlmann <wortkarg3@yahoo.com> wrote:

Am 10.10.2025 um 08:07 schrieb Mark Summerfield:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

I must then click the dialog to give it focus.

Is it possible (1) to make the focus go automatically to the
modal dialog if present? (2) to get the focus to the dialog
via the keyboard?

grab -global $toplevel

While that would work, it would work by preventing any switching away
from the dialog at all, even to an unrelated application. If you can't
switch away at all, naturally you can't also lose focus. But a global
grab is also a very poor UI design as it locks you into dismissing the
dialog as your only choice, and that is why the warning is in the
manpage about -global.
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Mark Summerfield <m.n.summerfield@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

Sounds like either a window manager bug (switching away to another app
and back are not Tk's responsibility). The window manager should be remembering the dialog was present and had focus at the switch away,
and returning the focus to the dialog when switching back.

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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 11.10.25 um 20:37 schrieb Rich:

Mark Summerfield <m.n.summerfield@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Tcl/Tk 9 app with a main window and which sometimes
pops up a modal toplevel window (e.g., a confirmation dialog).

If I then switch to another application altogether, when I
context switch back to my original app, the _main window_ gets
the focus (even though the dialog is still there & even though
I can't interact with the main window).

Sounds like either a window manager bug (switching away to another app
and back are not Tk's responsibility). The window manager should be remembering the dialog was present and had focus at the switch away,
and returning the focus to the dialog when switching back.

As I wrote earlier, that only works if you do "wm transient" on the
dialog. The standard dialogs for fileselection e.g. provide a "-parent"
option do to that. For self-written dialogs that are just ordinary
toplevels, you need to tell the window manager that they are a dialog.

Christian
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