Bring to front when loading new video

[DM27]

Why in tarnation has this not yet been fixed??????????????????

This is absolutely a bug, as others have indicated. Virtually everything else about VLC is better than the competition. That this bug has not been fixed after 10+ years is baffling.

I refuse to believe that even a single VLC user would experience this ridiculously abnormal behavior, and think: "Yep, that's desirable. When I open a second video, I most certainly do not want to watch it."

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Evidently, most people don't mind, or don't mind badly enough that they would actually bother arranging for this "bug" to be addressed.

[Rebel]

Why is this still an issue THIRTEEN YEARS LATER?!!!

This also applies to using ⌘+Tab.

If I pause a video then switch to another app, when I use ⌘+Tab to go back to VLC the app comes to the foreground, but not the player window. So I must scroll to the dock and click the icon TWICE to see the player.

Why would anyone want to switch to the app, but not see the player? If there's a reason someone might, then there ought to be a setting to enable/disable bringing the player forward with ⌘+Tab.

I look forward to possibly seeing that feature in 2036 (another thirteen years).


macOS 10.14.6
VLC 3.0.18

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Because nobody fixed this in all of those SIXTEEN YEARS. You didn't; nobody else did.

[Rebel]

Thank you, Captain Obvious!

I'm not sure what the developers have been developing since 2010 - we're still on v3.

I've been using Elmedia Player a lot more the past year - it often plays videos that freeze or won't play in VLC, especially partially-downloaded files.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

I am not sure if you realise that VLC is a volunteer project. Other people don't necessarily have the time, skill or motivation to fix what you care about, or even much time at all to dedicate to the project.

[Rebel]

I am aware, and thank you for reminding me.

But this isn't "my" issue; I didn't start this thread in 2010.

It was followed up two months later by another member:

I second this request.

And another two months later:

I agree heartily, it should come to the front, when loading new video

Followed up by several other members throughout the years:

2011

+1 as well, this has been driving me insane ever since I switched to Windows 7.

It seems this problem does not exist in XP, something has changed in Windows 7 to prevent applications from stealing focus.

However, I want VLC to take focus when I doubleclick a video file in explorer, not stay hidden.

2016

Hi all, problem is still "alive"

2017

Still one of the most annoying problem of VLC

Would be a great advantage if VLC-player could manage this standard Windows foreground/background behaviour

2017

Is there a solution or a workaround ?

2018

his issue in the Windows version is the ONE THING I can't stand about VLC. This bug (yes, bug) has driven me crazy, for years, and continues to do so. It's insane that that this problem has never been fixed. The behavior that is being described/requested here is not special or novel or unusual or quirky, and it should not be controversial -- it is how virtually ALL other software works in Windows and virtually every other modern windowed OS. We're talking about a standard UI behavior convention that users expect, and when it doesn't behave that way, it feels conspicuously broken. That qualifies this as a bug, not a feature request.

2020

Here with the same problem. Found many tread in the bug tracker with this problem, neither of that with a solution.

I'm writing not to criticize. VLC is a good player, I report this BUG to incentive a fix.

2020

How is this still a problem 10 years later... making a preference for this cant be that difficult - I just want the window to get focus when I start a new video..... is it really too difficult to get a preference for this?

2021

VLC media player is my favorite program for watching videos. I love being able to speed up or slow down at various speeds using the keyboard shortcuts + or - Many other great features include downloading subtitles and ability to skip ahead or back at short medium or large jumps. My only grievance is the one mentioned in this thread that has been reiterated for over a decade now.

Scenario: I watched S01E01 using VLC's wonderful features. Now ready to watch S01E02 I go back to the file explorer and double-click it. Where is it? I can hear it already started. Let me find it on the taskbar, select VLC and then navigate back to the beginning of the episode to watch the segment that I missed because of this tedious process and increasingly annoying glitch.

This request is not a heavy lift since this is literally how every other program I have used operates. Please, please, please fix this issue/bug.

2021

Please fix this VLC dev community. It's ridiculous not to have implemented the expected Windows UI behavior but after ten years of requests?! When opening a new file, the application window is always brought to front, please fix.

2021

YOUR CAUSTIC REPLY: Please provide a patch. It's ridiculous to complain about a community of volunteers not doing what you want.

2021

No luck, too!

Really annoying!

2022

Why in tarnation has this not yet been fixed??????????????????

This is absolutely a bug, as others have indicated. Virtually everything else about VLC is better than the competition. That this bug has not been fixed after 10+ years is baffling.

I refuse to believe that even a single VLC user would experience this ridiculously abnormal behavior, and think: "Yep, that's desirable. When I open a second video, I most certainly do not want to watch it."

2022

YOUR UNHELPFUL REPLY: Evidently, most people don't mind, or don't mind badly enough that they would actually bother arranging for this "bug" to be addressed.

To sum it up, if the level of development is such that bugs affecting scores of users can't be quashed in 13 years, then I'd call it abandonware. Based on the responses in this thread, you're the only developer still interested in this project anyway, and either you can't or won't fix outstanding bugs.


Although the name sucks, (not that VLC is any more descriptive), I'm glad a capable alternative like Elmedia Player came along.


R.I.P. VLC

[hamcha]

Lemme request this once again in 2024 then

[bjazz]

I pledge to donate an additional $5 to the VLC project, or the contributor that eventually patches this. Maybe if enough people pledge to support this bounty, it will financially motivating to put together a patch.