Floating toolbar activation can cause unintended focus change with multiple windows.

[David.P]

[Split by Dan from viewtopic.php?t=44213]
Hello Forum and PXE support team,

This reply is a follow‑up to the present thread and to the similar thread #40875:
If windows are displayed independently, 'Browse for Link Target' dialog may be hidden behind window when setting a link,
intended as both a reminder and a more precise reproduction guide.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Switch PDF-XChange Editor to the "Classic Toolbars" user interface.
2. Make sure that a keyboard shortcut is assigned to "Show/Hide the Properties toolbar" (Standard is "CTRL+E"):
   image.png
3. Drag the properties toolbar from the top of the program window to make it floating:
   image(1).png
4. Open two PDF documents in separate windows (not tabs). You can also open the same document in two separate windows.
5. Switch from one window to the other using the Windows taskbar buttons or Alt+Tab.
6. In the foreground window, use the mouse to select any element (e.g., a comment, for example a text box).
7. Activate the Properties Toolbar by pressing its keyboard shortcut.
   → Unexpectedly, the background window jumps to the front and covers the active window.
   You then have to manually switch back to the previous window to continue working.
8. Closing the Properties toolbar often triggers the same issue: the inactive window pops to the front.
9. Occasionally, the Properties Toolbar even gets misrendered: very small and/or displaying properties for an unrelated item (e.g., page instead of selected comment). In the below example, in one of the program windows a thumbnail was selected and in the other a comment element. It can be seen that the Properties Toolbar mixes these things up and thinks it is displaying the properties of the comment text box, when in fact it is showing the properties of a page thumbnail:
   Properties Toolbar mismatch.png

Note: previous threads mention similar behavior for example with the Thumbnails Pane. The above specific flow reproduces the issue reliably.

Why this matters:
This bug is highly disruptive, especially during presentations where swift and seamless window/tool switching is essential. Unexpected window focus steals interrupt the presenter and confuse the audience.

This issue has persisted for years and remains unresolved. A timely fix would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, David.P

Thank you for the report, while similar, this is a decidedly different situation from the post you were replying to, so I split it into its own thread for clarity.

I will raise this with the Dev team, and make reference to the two adjacent tickets we do have from those other threads, to see how the Dev team wants this handled.

Kind regards,