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How to get rid of focus rectangle in Windows 8.1 64 Bit? [Solved...somewhat]

I

icewolf461

Member
Hi. I recently reinstalled Windows 8.1 and noticed this white box around a tile or setting when I hover over it. It's like accessiblity or something but I didn't change any settings than what I usually do. This has never happened on any older Installations before. I think it may have imported a setting from my Microsoft account but I'm not sure. There is another person who is experiencing the same situation like me but they didn't find a solution I think. How do I remove these "autofocus" selection borders from the Windows 8.1/8 tile screen? - Super User

Here is a screenshot of my problem:

47969d1406736525-how-get-rid-focus-rectangle-windows-8-1-64-bit-white-box.png


Any help is appreciated. Thanks. 🙂
 
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Also the dotted rectangle is really annoying and I would like to get rid of it permanently. Refreshing desktop and restarting PC is just a temporary fix. I tried the universal remover but it didn't work after I restarted. The focus rectangle was still there. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Screenshot:

47978d1406749254-how-get-rid-focus-rectangle-windows-8-1-64-bit-focus-rectangle.png
 
Funny, turning on the focus rectangles is one of the first things I do--it's quite an essential feature for power-users who use a lot of keyboard shortcuts and navigation.

I can't imagine why any advanced user would want to leave this at the default of off. But if you prefer such heresy 🙂P), here's how you can change it back:

Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Make the keyboard easier to use > Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys (although it doesn't say so, this also controls the dotted focus rectangles--not sure about the solid ones, though... also, these will turn on automatically, though temporarily, if Windows detects that you are using the keyboard to navigate or control; e.g., if you tab around the controls in a window instead of clicking around)

(Also, this option does not control third-party programs that use their own widgets instead of the OS-supplied ones. Notably, web browsers.)
 
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code65536 said:
Funny, turning on the focus rectangles is one of the first things I do--it's quite an essential feature for power-users who use a lot of keyboard shortcuts and navigation.

I can't imagine why any advanced user would want to leave this at the default of off. But if you prefer such heresy 🙂P), here's how you can change it back:

Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Make the keyboard easier to use > Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys (although it doesn't say so, this also controls the dotted focus rectangles--not sure about the solid ones, though... also, these will turn on automatically, though temporarily, if Windows detects that you are using the keyboard to navigate or control; e.g., if you tab around the controls in a window instead of clicking around)

(Also, this option does not control third-party programs that use their own widgets instead of the OS-supplied ones. Notably, web browsers.)
Click to expand...

It was already off, so I flipped it back on and off and still didn't work. :\
 
icewolf461 said:
It was already off, so I flipped it back on and off and still didn't work. :\
Click to expand...

Then that's a bug.

I just confirmed that unchecking it got rid of the solid focus rings in Metro along with the dotted ones in Desktop (though, again, they will always appear if you are actively navigating using the keyboard).

Have you tried creating a new user profile and seeing if that's affected, too?
 
Ehh...I don't wanna make a new user profile even if that will solve it haha. I'll just live with it until one day I have to reinstall/upgrade Windows again. 🙂 Thanks anyway.
 
icewolf461 said:
Ehh...I don't wanna make a new user profile even if that will solve it haha. I'll just live with it until one day I have to reinstall/upgrade Windows again. 🙂 Thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting that you actually switch to a new profile. But trying a new profile is good tool for narrowing down the diagnosis--i.e., if it works, then it's a problem somewhere in a user-specific configuration, or if the problem persists in a new profile, then that would suggest a system-wide problem.
 
code65536 said:
I'm not suggesting that you actually switch to a new profile. But trying a new profile is good tool for narrowing down the diagnosis--i.e., if it works, then it's a problem somewhere in a user-specific configuration, or if the problem persists in a new profile, then that would suggest a system-wide problem.
Click to expand...

Okay so I made a new user account and the boxes/outlines from post #1 and #2 are gone but #3 is still there. ._. WTF :c
 
code65536 said:
This is a setting that should take effect immediately. It sounds almost as if something is causing the behavior to be overridden, which is why seeing if the problem affects a new profile might potentially be illuminating.
Click to expand...

Wasn't sure, there are a lot of UI settings in Windows that require a log off/on or a reboot.
 
icewolf461 said:
Okay so I made a new user account and the boxes/outlines from post #1 and #2 are gone but #3 is still there. ._. WTF :c
Click to expand...

Can you think of any program or device that you have installed that might mess around with Windows' accessibility behavior? Or something that might change the behavior of your keyboard in some unusual way?
 
Yellow ftw! 😀 <3 And no, I have the same programs installed from previous installations. The only thing new is the Bitdefender antivirus. It's been causing new problems too that I already fixed...like turning off automatic Windows Updates every 15 minutes...I had to turn off Autopilot mode.
 
Someone also has the same problem like me, and they too have Bitdefender 2015. They contacted support chat but it denied that Bitdefender was the cause lol...which it most likely is.
 
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