From 33e9eeef784c85009e7867c5497181304554ce4c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Scott Idem <stidem@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 22 May 2026 13:51:53 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix(launcher): retry activate in post-script loop to beat
 macOS focus-stealing
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All app post-scripts called activate once before the poll loop, then only
checked `frontmost` passively. When Electron retains focus (common when the
app is spawned via run_cmd), macOS focus-stealing prevention blocks the one-
shot activate and VLC/PowerPoint/etc. never come to front. The poll loop
times out and fires the keystroke at Electron instead.

Fix: move activate inside the repeat loop so it re-fires every 0.5s until
macOS yields focus. Also bumped VLC post_delay_ms 1000→2000 and iterations
15→20 for slow conference machines.

Affected profiles: VLC (mac), PowerPoint (mac), LibreOffice (mac+win),
Acrobat (mac+win).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .../ae_launcher__default_launch_profiles.ts   | 57 ++++++++++---------
 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/lib/ae_events/ae_launcher__default_launch_profiles.ts b/src/lib/ae_events/ae_launcher__default_launch_profiles.ts
index d488225d..0b8a2f8c 100644
--- a/src/lib/ae_events/ae_launcher__default_launch_profiles.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ae_events/ae_launcher__default_launch_profiles.ts
@@ -63,14 +63,15 @@ function make_vlc_mirror_mac_profile(): LaunchProfile {
         // Direct binary path ensures VLC receives media file + flags reliably.
         // `--no-play-and-exit` prevents closing on end, `--play-and-pause` holds final frame.
         open_cmd: '/Applications/VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/VLC --no-play-and-exit --play-and-pause "{{path}}"',
-        post_delay_ms: 1000,
-        // Poll until VLC is frontmost before sending Cmd+F. A fixed delay is unreliable because
-        // VLC cold-start on a loaded conference Mac can take 3-5 seconds.
-        // Polling (15 × 0.5 s = up to 7.5 s after the initial wait) fires as soon as VLC is ready.
-        post_script: `tell application "VLC"
-    activate
-end tell
-repeat 15 times
+        post_delay_ms: 2000,
+        // Poll until VLC is frontmost before sending Cmd+F. Re-activate on every iteration —
+        // a single activate at the top is blocked by macOS focus-stealing prevention when VLC
+        // is spawned as a child of Electron (which stays frontmost). Retrying activate each loop
+        // keeps nudging macOS until it yields focus. Max wait: 20 × 0.5s = 10s after initial delay.
+        post_script: `repeat 20 times
+    tell application "VLC"
+        activate
+    end tell
     delay 0.5
     tell application "System Events"
         if frontmost of process "VLC" is true then exit repeat
@@ -104,10 +105,10 @@ const POWERPOINT_MAC_EXTEND_PROFILE: LaunchProfile = {
     display_mode: 'extend',
     open_cmd: 'open -a "Microsoft PowerPoint" "{{path}}"',
     post_delay_ms: 1000,
-    post_script: `tell application "Microsoft PowerPoint"
-    activate
-end tell
-repeat 15 times
+    post_script: `repeat 20 times
+    tell application "Microsoft PowerPoint"
+        activate
+    end tell
     delay 0.5
     tell application "System Events"
         if frontmost of process "Microsoft PowerPoint" is true then exit repeat
@@ -148,10 +149,10 @@ const LIBREOFFICE_MAC_EXTEND_PROFILE: LaunchProfile = {
     display_mode: 'extend',
     open_cmd: 'open -a "LibreOffice" "{{path}}"',
     post_delay_ms: 1000,
-    post_script: `tell application "LibreOffice"
-    activate
-end tell
-repeat 15 times
+    post_script: `repeat 20 times
+    tell application "LibreOffice"
+        activate
+    end tell
     delay 0.5
     tell application "System Events"
         if frontmost of process "soffice" is true then exit repeat
@@ -170,10 +171,10 @@ const ACROBAT_MAC_MIRROR_PROFILE: LaunchProfile = {
     display_mode: 'mirror',
     open_cmd: 'open -a "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC" "{{path}}"',
     post_delay_ms: 1000,
-    post_script: `tell application "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC"
-    activate
-end tell
-repeat 15 times
+    post_script: `repeat 20 times
+    tell application "Adobe Acrobat Reader DC"
+        activate
+    end tell
     delay 0.5
     tell application "System Events"
         if frontmost of process "AdobeReader" is true then exit repeat
@@ -215,10 +216,10 @@ const LIBREOFFICE_WIN_EXTEND_PROFILE: LaunchProfile = {
     display_mode: 'extend',
     open_cmd: 'open -a "LibreOffice" "{{path}}"',
     post_delay_ms: 1500,
-    post_script: `tell application "LibreOffice"
-    activate
-end tell
-repeat 15 times
+    post_script: `repeat 20 times
+    tell application "LibreOffice"
+        activate
+    end tell
     delay 0.5
     tell application "System Events"
         if frontmost of process "soffice" is true then exit repeat
@@ -237,10 +238,10 @@ const ACROBAT_WIN_MIRROR_PROFILE: LaunchProfile = {
     display_mode: 'mirror',
     open_cmd: 'open -a "Acrobat Reader Windows" "{{path}}"',
     post_delay_ms: 1500,
-    post_script: `tell application "Acrobat Reader Windows"
-    activate
-end tell
-repeat 15 times
+    post_script: `repeat 20 times
+    tell application "Acrobat Reader Windows"
+        activate
+    end tell
     delay 0.5
     tell application "System Events"
         if frontmost of process "Acrobat Reader Windows" is true then exit repeat