Focus

At work I spend a good deal of time logging into this or that system. Often these days such a system requires more than a username and password, uses what is called multi-factor authentication (MFA). In many cases I use Google Authenticator on my phone for this--I find that I have nine applications using it, plus one application that we no longer use, and for which I should remove the entry. Google Authenticator will provide a six-digit code for an application, which code changes at short intervals.

A couple of the applications that require MFA will bring up a page where one may enter the code, but then do not set the "focus" to the input box. This means that one can confidently type the six-digit code, look at the box, and find that there is nothing there. In such cases, one clicks in the box, waits for the numbers on the phone to change, and types in the new code. I find this annoying, out of proportion to the real inconvenience.

One of the applications for which I get authenticator codes is Okta. An Okta login sequence always sets the focus properly for the code. Now, Okta's whole business is to centralize authentication for its customers, so you would expect them to have put thought into these matters. Anyway, good for them.

It is not only in HTML inputs that developers neglect focus. Recently I have been adding comments to some database objects, using Oracle SQL Developer. Once in ten times I will click on the comment tab of the window and start typing, having failed to remember that the focus is still with the object name above the tabs, and so wiping that out. It is hard to do damage this way, for a comment will not match the allowed format of an object name. Still, one must close the window without saving and start over.