I suspect other laptops do, as well, but I can’t confirm whether or not this fix will work with other manufacturers’ devices. Here’s a bonus tip… Have a Dell laptop? Well, many now have a Calc button built in to the keyboard.
Net installed, then you can go here to download a version. Net 3.0, so most will be able to use the app right out of the box. You can also view and download the app’s source code. Want to put the app to use on your own system? Download it here. It seems to be working, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are instances where it doesn’t. As a result, my program uses a number of different methods to try and bring the calculator window into view. It’s a security measure they implemented back in the Windows XP days. Windows puts a lot of effort into stopping programs from launching and focusing on other programs’ windows.
Of course, I can’t guarantee it will work on Windows 10 systems, either (but it should).
Windows 7 support was secondary, so I can’t guarantee that it will work on Windows 7 systems (but it should). Note that my launcher app was primarily designed to fix issues with the calculator button on Windows 10 systems. The launcher I put together will look for both windows, so it should work on most Windows systems. On Windows 7 systems, the app is running in its own window frame (CalcFrame), while on Windows 10 its running in the more generic Windows App frame (ApplicationFrameWindow).
This also resulted in some peculiarities when writing code to find and focus on the proper windows. Instead, it’s a Modern style app, running in Windows 10’s new windowed-app mode. It’s no longer a normal desktop app that’s running. I suspect the switch to a Windows-App-based calculator is the cause of the focus problems. The calculator button now works exactly as one would expect. I then set my calculator key to run my special launcher, instead of calc.exe. So, a launcher for calc.exe, which is itself a launcher for the Windows App calculator.exe. If the calculator isn’t already running, then it will start and properly set focus to it. My solution was to write a simple VB.Net program that, when executed, looks for and brings into focus an existing calculator instance. Plus, neither of these options solve the issue of opening multiple calculators. Nice way to think out of the box, but unreliable. One user suggested setting up a macro to launch the Start Menu, type in “calc.exe”, then hit Enter. Uninstall the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center? That’s hardly a real solution, and you’d lose quite a bit of functionality in doing so. The users in the aforementioned post have come up with a few workarounds, but they’re hacks at best. So, how do we fix these issues? Keep reading for the answer…Īs demonstrated by this forum post, I’m not the only one experiencing these calculator problems. Additionally, the key will open a new instance of the calculator each time it’s pressed. You have to select the entry area with your mouse, then start typing. It’s selected, but if you start typing, nothing will happen. Hit the calculator key and the calculator will open, but it won’t quite be in focus. Well, with Windows 10, things have made a turn for the worse. On others, it would follow the preferred route and bring into focus the currently open calculator, or open the calculator application if it wasn’t already running. By that I mean, instead of pulling into focus a calculator app that is already running, it would instead keep opening new calculator apps. On some computers, hitting the key would open a new calculator instance each time.
On Windows 7, the calculator key (or more appropriately, the software driving the key) was a bit hit and miss. Tap the calculator button, wait for the calculator app to launch, move your hand down to the number keys, and start calculating. It’s a simple thing, really, and isn’t exclusive to this keyboard, by any means. One of the handiest features is the conveniently-placed calculator button. I settled upon this keyboard many years ago, and have used it both at work and at home ever since. Ahh, my good ol’ Microsoft Wireless Laser Keyboard 6000 v2.0.