Windows rapidly switching focus

After a recent update to ISBoxer, my character sets stopped working correctly. Once several application windows are loaded (I have 7 instances of Eve Online and one dx nothing), if I try to set focus to any of them the system starts rapidly cycling through all of the available windows.

This leaves me unable to reliably select a particular window in which to perform an action, thus rendering the software unusable.

Any ideas what might be going on here? I have been using this same character set for months prior to the January updates.

Here is my configuration if that helps.
http://www.privatepaste.com/6c32049b98

[lax]

How recent of an update? What build number of Inner Space are you using? If you're on 6055, there is a known issue with Window Focus Action for Next/Previous Window which is fixed in 6056. I don't think there's been any other related changes.

How recent of an update? What build number of Inner Space are you using? If you're on 6055, there is a known issue with Window Focus Action for Next/Previous Window which is fixed in 6056. I don't think there's been any other related changes.

I have inner space v1.13 (Build 6040) and ISBoxer version 41.11..1227.1

Is there something I should do to get an updated version? I just downloaded and installed the latest from the isboxer.com website and I have auto-patching enabled.

Additional information which may be relevant.

I am running in SLI mode (2x2). Previously, I was running 1x3. In 1x3 the system behaved well. In 2x2 it does not.

There may be other variables, but that is one change in the environment that has occurred. If I do not use SLI, the windows appear to be stable.

[MiRai]

I am running in SLI mode (2x2). Previously, I was running 1x3. In 1x3 the system behaved well. In 2x2 it does not.

What does this mean? Two GPUs with two monitors, and one GPU with three monitors?

I'll just toss this out there, but if you're changing in and out of different SLI configurations (including not using any SLI mode at all) your monitor configuration may be changing internally, but not visually, in Windows, and therefore you may need separate Window Layouts to handle each different SLI configuration.

I don't know why this would have changed only recently, but it's probably worth a shot to try re-creating a Window Layout to see if the behavior persists.

I was running in 1x3 SLI, then I got another monitor and changed to 2x2 SLI.

In 1x3 I had one GPU with 2 monitors and the other with 1 monitor. In 2x2 I have two monitors on each.


I have been setting up different window layouts with each monitor configuration I've defined (4 monitors - NO SLI, 1x3 SLI, 2x2 SLI).

I just got done completely rebuilding my VFX setup in 4 monitor - No SLI layout and everything seems to be working fine.

Everything was working fine in 1x3 SLI. Simply changing the layout to 2x2 SLI (and making new window layout and arranging application windows) without adding any other features (besides the dx nothing window) I get the odd switching behavior.

Oh and 1x3 means all three monitors side by side; 2x2 means the four monitors are laid out in quadrants 2 on top, 2 on bottom.

I suspect the issue is more to do with the monitor arrangement than anything else. I'll experiment more and report my findings.

I have tried
1. 1x3 SLI
2. 2x2 SLI
3. 1x4 SLI
4. No SLI (4 monitors)

Everything works fine with no issues in case 1 and case 4. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, but if I add a 4th monitor the system starts freaking out about the time the 3rd or 4th application is added.

I'm puzzled. My work around is to change my display configuration to NO SLI, or 1x3 when I want to run this application.

Let me know if there is any more information I can provide or test scenarios I can run through that might help identify the source of this issue.

Thank you.

I have also just tried the latest dev build of Inner Space (6056) with the 2x2 SLI monitor configuration with the same result.

The application rapidly cycles through the available stacked windows when setting focus or using a hot-key to switch to one of them. It dies eventually stop after some variable number of seconds (maybe 3-5?), but doesn't always come to rest on the window I was trying to get to.

Again, if there is anything else I can do to help pinpoint this issue let me know.

Thank you.

[MiRai]

Looking at your profile it seems that you're using Surround for each of your Window Layouts, but is this necessary? Have you tried getting a working multi-monitor setup without the use of Surround? In my experience, Surround actually creates extra GPU overhead and will hinder your performance overall when trying to run multiple clients. However, this was back when I had GTX 580s, so it may have gotten better over the years. /shrug

Also, have you tried basic Wizard-generated Window Layouts rather than the intricate layout(s) to see if they perform as they should?

[lax]

Huh...
Umm...

I don't think your issue is related to any ISBoxer or Inner Space updates (which by the way were December 27th, and 21st, respectively), I don't see what different SLI modes have to do with window switching in the first place, and your Window Layout (at least according to your pasted configuration) doesn't include swapping behavior anyway. On top of that, I can't personally test 2x2 SLI.


What does come to mind is that you have Focus follows mouse enabled. This is pretty much expected for your layout and shouldn't be a problem. The Focus follows mouse option should only be available when swapping features are disabled (and again, your swapping is disabled), but I've seen someone manage to turn it on with swapping, which would definitely cause this issue if you've found a way to do that. What would happen with both swapping enabled AND focus follows mouse is you put your mouse over one of the small game windows, and it activates, moving to a different spot on the screen while your mouse cursor stays in the same location; then your mouse cursor is over another window entirely, so THAT window moves to the main area. This would be expected to happen until moving the mouse cursor over the main area.

That's the only known reason for the issue you're describing, but from the configuration you've pasted I'd say it shouldn't happen. You can disable this option to rule it out as the cause though. I would want a fresh paste with whatever changes you've gone through to be sure, I guess.


The only other thing I see regarding your profile is that you've got MMO - Standard and MMO - Pro configuration styles from the Quick Setup, neither of which are really useful for EVE Online. Next time through I would definitely go with what is selected by default for EVE which is "Minimal". This wouldn't really be a big problem, but you've got some wires crossed with your Key Maps. Several individual Characters have Key Maps assigned that probably should not be, and some of them specifically have two custom-named versions of "Always On" enabled at the same time, PLUS the main "Always On" which is assigned to all of your Character Sets. So on 5 out of your 6 teams, pressing one of the toggles in almost any window will do the toggle 3 times instead of 1 time. Luckily you've only got "Next window" assigned a Hotkey in ONE of those, so we can assume this isn't the issue you're running into.

I would probably recommend starting again with a cleared profile. You can keep this profile backed up, just go to File and use Save As. Then go to File and select Clear and let it clear out your entire configuration. Use the QSW and leave it at Minimal setup. You should get an "Always On" Key Map and that's it. You shouldn't need a different version of it for each Character Set or anything. If you use exactly the same Character Set and Character names when setting it up, then any Video FX and such you've configured within the game will still be there. Just don't forget the option "Video FX Viewers stay when in background" when doing your dxNothing part again