Chrome OS has been steadily growing up over the years, with Linux and Android app support helping it to stray from its "just a browser" roots. Thanks to powerful multitasking features like virtual desks and window snapping, Google's operating system is a solid productivity choice for consumers and many professionals. To help you work even faster, Chrome OS will soon pick up a classic productivity feature that will give your Chromebook the old-school coolness you never thought you needed.
Chrome Storyrecently spotted Focus Follows Mouse (FFM) in the Chromium repository, a legacy feature commonly used by Unixboomersdevelopers back in the day. Chrome OS one-ups its Windows and macOS competition by baking FFM natively into its window management system — no third party mods needed. If you're on the Chrome OS Dev or Canary channel, you can try it out by copying and pasting the followingURLin boldinto Chrome's address bar.
I would have never expected Google to add this old-school power-user feature into Chrome OS, especially with the company'srecurrentattempts to dumb its products down. As someone who's accustomed to Focus Follows Mouse on my traditional Linux system, it's been a major pain to switch between my Chromebook and desktop. FFM allows me to copy and paste text into Google Sheets without clicking, which is way more intuitive than without. I can also interact with two windows at once — scroll window #1 with a mouse, type with window #2. It opens up multiple avenues for powerful multitasking opportunities, helping you get work done even faster.
Focus Follows Mouse is a significant step in the right direction for many of us working in a multi-window environment. I'd like to see additional windowing options in Chrome OS, too, like auto-raise windows, stock Focus Follows Mouse (without the sloppy model), and Always on Top. I imagine once FFM arrives for the Stable channel, you'll be able to customize it at the Personalization section in system preferences. With any luck it will come soon rather than later.
