Fix chat focus behavior to allow copy/paste from messages

[nakul-py]

Previously, clicking anywhere in the chat panel forced focus onto the input (this.node.onclick = () => this.model.input.focus();). This made it difficult to select or copy text from the chat history, since every click redirected focus.

Now we check if the user has selected text input loses focus, click on button, interactive elements, <details>, <summary> and else work like before

Screencast.From.2025-09-09.13-16-45.mp4

Closes #267

[github-actions]

👈 Launch a Binder on branch nakul-py/jupyter-chat/selection

[brichet]

Thanks @nakul-py for working on this.

I have some comment below, let me know if it sound reasonable.

[brichet]

Thanks @nakul-py, this looks good to me.
I only have a tiny comment.

@jtpio, do you think this is enough to handle the click on elements that should not trigger a input focus ?

[jtpio]

Wondering if we really need to force the focus to the chat area at all?

As a user, it can be frustrating if the application forces the focus to be somewhere else than where we want it to be.

[brichet]

Wondering if we really need to force the focus to the chat area at all?

As a user, it can be frustrating if the application forces the focus to be somewhere else than where we want it to be.

This behavior has been added in #146. The idea was to update the focus tracker on click, to make the commands work on the last clicked chat. To update the focus tracker, we need to focus an element of the chat. By default, the input field seemed to be the most relevant element to focus on.

[brichet]

Thinking again about it, a more generic way could be to check if the current active element is on the chat, instead of checking if the target isl focusable element. Something like:

Suggested change

	if (
	target.closest('button, a, input, textarea, select, summary, details')
	) {
	return;
	}
	if (this.node.contains(document.activeElement)) {
	return;
	}

That way we ensure that the input get focussed (and the tracker updates the current chat) only if the click occurs in a non-focusable element.

[nakul-py]

Sounds Good!🙂 and i have tried it working fine.

[brichet]

Thanks @nakul-py for updating it quickly.