In Windows, whenever we select an item such as drop-down list, buttons, etc, an annoying focus rectangle is automatically shown around it as shown in following screenshot:
The rectangle is also shown on buttons, etc in dialog boxes. Although its shown to help you in easily find out the control item which is having focus but it doesn't look good and many people want to get rid of it.
Thanks to our friend "localhost" who made a small program to remove the annoying focus rectangle which works in almost every version of Windows.
How to Instructions:
1. First download following ZIP file and extract it:
It seems the official download page is no longer available so we have uploaded the utility at our server for your convenience.
2. You'll get a DLL file "RemoveFocusRectangle.dll" in the extracted folder. Copy this DLL file to C:\Windows\System32 folder. You can directly open this folder by typing system32 in RUN or Start Menu searchbox and press Enter.
3. Now open Command Prompt as Administrator and execute following command:
regsvr32 RemoveFocusRectangle.dll
4. Close Command Prompt and restart Windows and you'll never see the annoying focus rectangle again.
5. If you want to uninstall this patch in future, simply execute following command in Command Prompt:
regsvr32 /u RemoveFocusRectangle.dll
After executing the above command, you can safely delete the DLL file from System32 folder.
Posted by: Vishal Gupta | Categories: Software, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
Kyle
I skimmed through alot of websites, this is the only thing that actually worked! Just make sure you do a reboot after you install and then try shift+clicking on something. If no dotted lines appear, then it worked!
VG
^^ Glad to know it worked for you. :)
Ayan
Any Windows 8 version for this DLL?
VG
^^ No. The developer is no longer working on the utility.
Anony
I desperately need a Windows 8 version. Please someone...
zydrius32
It doesn't work for 64-bit systems. :C
zydrius32
You deleted my message, but didn't update file. -.-
VG
^^ I didnt delete any comment. It might be automatically deleted by the blog software. Did you include any link in your comment? Please post your comment again so that I can review it.
zydrius32
I said that there's a new version (works with 64-bit Windows 7 too) and you should update download link.
bit.ly/OxRGE6
VG
^^ Actually the files you shared were already given in above article when it was posted long time back. But many people reported virus found in the files. I ran virustotal scan and found many virus warnings, thats why I decided to remove the files and uploaded a working DLL file.
32-bit file report: virustotal.com/en/file/337b40c772c4fc5c2d917a70fcdfae9c769d1b1f15f4c2fa89f39233df260fbb/analysis/1364212195/
64-bit file report: virustotal.com/en/file/465b47b40bf5a4f245792264adc445dc9b46bf263b3adf8a375cf59bed819fe4/analysis/1364212288/
zydrius32
I'm using 64-bit version and it's working (that .DLL didn't work). My ESET Smart Security didn't report anything, I scanned it.
zydrius32
I have just submitted this program (both versions - 32-64 bit) for analysis.
D@niel
When i try it it says The module'RemoveFocusRectangle.dll' failed to load. Make sure the binary is stored at the specific path or debug it to check for problems with the binary or dependent .DLL files. The specified module could not be found. Please help!
Joel
Mine's not working. it says it did everything right, and I followed the instructions carefully twice, but both times, I still get the annoying focus rectangle. I'm using windows 7 32 bit. any suggestions?
VG
@Joel and Daniel
You both can try the new versions of the program which were given in zydrius32's comment above.
Joel
Well, I tried it on a different computer and got a different error message, but I tried the newer one and it worked! Thanks VG! I'm a huge fan!
Max
How do I use the version that works in 64 bit? Users above say to use zydrius32's new version, but there is no link in his post so I do not know what to do...
VG
^^ Here it is: bit.ly/OxRGE6