Replies

While I respect your concern over making general Registry changes for just one application, I thought I’d throw this in the mix. I have the exact same issue with Outlook 2010. When I open a meeting, sometimes it opens the meeting in the background.

So the problem isn’t entirely unique to L-O. And at the risk of over-generalizing, it’s hard to imagine when that behaviour would be both appropriate and welcome.

Thanks for your post. Like you, I cannot imagine that behaviour ever being appropriate and welcome, but I suspect that in each case the issue is better dealt with by resolving the root cause within the particular errant software than by having all users of the software change Registry settings which affect all programs (though it was certainly worth giving it a test in the course of trying to resolve this problem). Apparently LO is dealing with it as a bug within LO which needs to be fixed, as indicated in this bug report.

Perhaps Microsoft should do the same with Outlook, though I doubt that MS would now invest any effort in trying to resolve issues with the 2010 version. At this point, I suspect that any resolution of your Outlook issue, if one exists, is more likely to come from searching through user forums.

Further update:

For any who may be interested, a discussion of this bug can be found onthis page.

Cheers,
HH33

UPDATE:

Version 5.1.1 had the same issue, so after posting in the LO Forum, I did some searching on the Ask.LibreOffice.org site and found this discussion of the issue. It appears that the issue has generated a number of bug reports, but no resolution so far. I tried closing/minimizing the sidebar in LO Writer and, much to my surprise, it sometimes seems to correct the issue, meaning that I can open an LO document from within Windows Explorer and have it open in the foreground with focus. Maybe others can have a go at this and find a pattern, but for now I’m going to have to let this issue go

The issue is annoying, but not a critical problem that prevents users from using LO, so I guess we’ll just have to wait patiently until LO catches up with this one in their bug fixes.

Cheers,
HH33

Thanks for the reminder about LO’s strange versioning system. I remember having seen that in the past, but I had always assumed that the “Check for Update” function within LO would of course take me to the latest “Fresh” version because it was the “stable version with the most recent features,” which is what most people are looking for when they check for updates. Bad assumption on my part.

I’ll give 5.1.1 a go and see if the problem disappears. If it doesn’t, I’ll see if I can learn anything on the LO Forum.

Thanks again for your continuing interest and posts on this issue.

Cheers,
HH33

It will have to be just on this computer for now, as I don’t have the time to muck about with multiple computers at the moment. I’ll update LO, but if the problem is still not fixed, I think my next step will be to join the LO Forum and post the issue there. As noted in an earlier post, I agree with Wavy that since the problem only occurs with LO, looking for broad brush “generic” solutions to a problem which appears to involve only one piece of software doesn’t really seem appropriate. Dunno; we’ll see.

Many thanks for your posts and suggestions. If I discover a solution or any information of interest, I’ll certainly post it here in the Lounge.

Cheers,
HH33

P.S. – After posting this, I clicked on the “Check for Updates” tab within LO and was told that my current version, 5.0.5.2 (64-Bit), is up-to-date. Is v5.1.1.3 (64-Bit) perhaps a beta version, not yet ready to be released to the great unwashed masses?

At the moment, the only experience I have of this issue is on my W7 Pro 64-Bit desktop, running LO Version 5.0.5.2 (64-Bit), on which I do most of my day-to-day computer work. I normally only use the laptop and (very rarely now) the HP Mini when I am traveling or teaching, so I can’t report on those at the moment. I can check the issue on one or both of them, but it may be a while before I can get the time to do that. In the meantime, perhaps other Loungers will weigh in on this question.

Thanks for your post and your interest in this issue.

Well, it appears that I may have celebrated too soon. While LO appears to open in the foreground and with focus when I start LO from scratch, I’ve now had occasions when – with LO open, but minimized – clicking on a document or spreadsheet in Windows Explorer still results in that doc/xls file opening in the background. I’ve played with it for a while, but have so far been unable to document a clear pattern of behavior. It looks as though I may need to go to the LO Forum after all when I have some time to research it.

I get this behavior too. Interestingly when I just run LO it presents itself right up front.
I have not researched this but my first thought on the matter is if all other programs behave why make a generic change to the Reggy? If you get no satisfaction here after a suitable time maybe there is a LO forum.

Hi, David,

Thanks for your posts. Like you, if I just start up Libre Office directly, I find that the LO window opens in the foreground and with the focus, but if I click on a LO file in Windows Explorer, the LO file opens behind the Windows Explorer window. I have no idea why the opening procedure differs in the two scenarios.

I very much agree with you that if all other programs are behaving themselves, it seems somehow inappropriate to make a generic change to the Registry just to cure a problem with a single piece of misbehaving software. In the short run, making that generic change resolved a minor annoyance for me, but when I have time, I’ll join the Libre Office Forum and see what I can learn there about a cure that is LO-specific.

The problem is that I’ve been spoiled. Over the years, I’ve come to respect the wide diversity of experience and knowledge here in the Lounge, so I normally make this my first port of call when I’m wrestling with any computer issue and I can honestly say that I’m very rarely disappointed.

Cheers,
HH33

HH33 – I’ve just checked on both x64- and x32-bit versions of Windows 7 and the default registry value for ForegroundLockTimeout appears to be 200000 (decimal). Changing the value to zero is a minor change that is easily reversible so I can’t think of any reason why you shouldn’t try it.

If it helps, I’ve attached a zip file that includes 2 .REG files. After checking them using Notepad, double-click on ForegroundLockTimeout (amended).reg to change the value to zero, as advised in the article you referenced. Alternatively, double-click on ForegroundLockTimeout (original).reg to change the value back to the default again.

Hope this helps…

Hi, Rick,

Many thanks for your kindness in including the Zip file. I was comfortable in making the change directly without the file, but it was very thoughtful of you to provide it.

I changed the ForegroundLockTimeout value to zero, rebooted, and bingo, Libre Office opened a document full screen, in the foreground, and with the focus, rather than opening in the background and leaving the focus on the Windows Explorer window within which I’d clicked the LO file.

Cheers,
HH33

Thanks for that link. It started me searching again using new search terms and I came across this page which appears to answer my problem. However, as it involves changing the Registry – which I only do rarely, cautiously, and after backing it up – I thought I’d check before I do it to see if anyone on this forum knows of a reason why this change would be an unwise thing to do. It seems innocuous enough, but I don’t want to inadvertently cause myself a problem, as I have no time to muck about with a self-inflicted major computer issue at the moment.

Thanks in advance for any and all thoughts on this.

Cheers,
HH33

Hi, Berton,

Usually neither Windows Explorer (in W7 Pro) nor the LO document are full-screen, so I can see the newly-opened LO document appear behind Windows Explorer, at which point I do exactly as you suggest and click on the LO document in the background to make it the active window in the foreground. If Windows Explorer is full-screen, then I have to click on the LO document tab at the bottom of the screen.

The point is that I shouldn’t have to do this when I open a document. In virtually every other software application I can think of, a new document, spreadsheet, or window of whatever kind opens in the foreground, having focus as the active window. I assume that this logical standard practice is likewise possible in LO, but for some reason I am unable to find the setting to tweak, hence my question.

Cheers,
HH33

Having owned DOS and Windows computers for over 30 years, I’m pretty invested in MS Windows and the software that runs on it, but some of us with grey hair actually remember when “privacy” used to mean something and was respected. Just the fact that MS even tried to set up my W7 Pro machine to phone home to Redmond with details from my computer, or to download W10 files – without first notifying me and getting my express, fully-informed consent – tells me all I need to know about where MS is headed and what the Windows of the future is likely to mean for my privacy and freedom of choice.

I’ve already downloaded Linux Mint and loaded it into Virtual Box. Sure, it’s a bit different and may take me a little while to get up to speed, but by January 14, 2020, when W7 reaches MS’s “End of Extended Support” (if not much sooner) my wife and I should be able to wave goodbye to Windows forever. Likewise, as soon as the Linux OS becomes more common on mobile phones, we can ditch snooping Google and their Android OS too.

My privacy is not for sale.

The .vmcx file is required for XP Mode. It can be recreated, but only from the .vmc file you’re going to delete:

Windows XP Mode has disappeared from the Virtual Machines folder. How can I recover it?
Cause: This can occur if the Windows XP Mode.vmcx has been deleted from the Virtual Machines folder.
Solution: Find and double-click the file Windows XP Mode.vmc to recreate the Windows XP Mode.vmcx file. The.vmc file is %systemdrive%Users AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows Virtual PCVirtual Machines, unless a different folder was selected during setup. In that case, search for “Windows XP Mode.vmc”.
Troubleshooting Windows Virtual PC

I would leave the .vmcx alone, but XP Mode can still de downloaded and reinstalled: Download Windows XP Mode from Official Microsoft Download Center

If you remove XP mode you will definitely have to download XP mode if you ever want to use it again (or at least reinstall it from a saved 450MB download file).

Bruce

Hi, Bruce,

Thanks for your informative and helpful post. You have confirmed what I thought might be the case, namely, that if I use the “Remove XP Mode” procedure, I will not just remove the virtual drive I created, but will instead remove the XP Mode capability from the computer. Accordingly, I’ll go ahead and just remove the huge virtual machine folder which contains the 34.5 GB. If removing the 512 MB .vmcx file may disable possible future XP Mode installation, I may just archive the .vmcx file to each of my two 1TB backup HDDs, then remove it from my computer’s HDD. That way, I’ll be able to put the file back where it was if I should ever want to, but won’t have to keep backing it up every week.

Thanks again for your help.

Cheers,
HH33

As you only want to do this to reduce backup time, why not change the backup arrangement instead?
You should have 2 types of backup, image and files. The image backup will allow you to recover from catastrophic failure and only needs to be run occasionally – once a month tops. The file backup collects all your data and should be run daily using an incremental backup. This will only collect files that have changed and you will then have historic copies in case you want to go back to a particular version.

What backup program are you using and where are you storing your backups?

cheers, Paul

Hi, Paul,

Thanks for your post. To answer your question, I use both EaseUS ToDo Backup Free and AOMEI Backupper Free, the former more than the latter. Having had two HDDs die on me in the past, I save full disk images of each of our computers every week to a 1TB external HDD, then copy those images to a second 1TB HDD which is always kept off-site, except when the copying of the image files occurs. Yes, I know it’s a “belt and braces” approach, but it has really saved my bacon in the past. I realize that I can use incremental file backups between monthly images if I wish, but that gets a bit more complex if I have to do a restore. Since I currently have no need for XP Mode, I’d rather just get the huge virtual drive folder off my HDD and be done with it.

Cheers,
HH33

Well, I’ve finally managed to find the answer to (almost all of) my own question, so I thought I’d post it here in case others are trying to do the same thing. It’s amazing how, when you change just one word in your Search terms, you suddenly get much better answers from the Internet. :rolleyes:

The procedure is spelled out on this page at technet.microsoft.com. In the section entitled “To delete a virtual machine,” it gives the following instructions for deleting files in the Virtual Machines folder located at %systemdrive%UsersusernameAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows Virtual PCVirtual Machines:

Look for and delete files that are named the same as the virtual machine and have the following extensions: .vmc, .vmc, .vpcbackup, .vsv, .vht, and .vud. You also can search for files with those extensions.

That will get rid of my 34.5GB files just fine. However, I have located another Virtual Machines folder at C:Users”User Name”Virtual Machines which contains a 512MB file entitled “Windows XP Mode.vmcx”. The Technet instructions do not mention removing virtual machine files in this subdirectory, nor do they say to remove files with that file extension (.vmcX), so I want to be cautious and find out if anyone knows if this file should be deleted too.

I should make very clear that I want to be careful NOT to delete the ability of W7 to create another XP Mode virtual machine in the future, should I want to do so for whatever reason, so I want to be sure that in deleting this .vmcx file I won’t inadvertently be disabling the ability of W7 to create future XP Mode virtual machines. My sole purpose is to delete the virtual machine I originally created to run XP Mode in order to save disk space and backup time.

I think the 512MB .vmcx file can be deleted safely, but I’d appreciate confirmation of that from someone who has “been there, done that.” It may only be coincidence, but when I look in the Settings for the XP Mode virtual machine, I see that the RAM allotted to the XP Mode is 512MB.

It’s possible that I should instead be following the procedure in that Technet article entitled “To remove Windows XP Mode”, but I want to make sure that if I do that I will not be permanently disabling the ability of W7 to recreate XP Mode in the future, should that be necessary.

Any thoughts on the deletion of that .vmcx file and/or the long-term effect of following the “To remove XP Mode” instructions will be much appreciated.

Cheers,
HH33