I will often use Spaces on Mac OS X 10.5 to switch to another space when a program is busy / unresponsive. Very often, without warning or apparent reason, Spaces will switch back to the first space without my requesting it to do so. Why does it do this and how can i stop it? How can I make spaces only switch in response to my requests?
Spaces in Leopard – How to Prevent Automatic Switching
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A bit better of a workaround is to hide the app with the dialog, then showing it again. That typically puts the dialog on top of the z axis, I noticed. Still annoying. The OS-X window manager is the worst PoS I've ever worked with. And just because Steve "believes" in the 1983 Mac window policy...
This will help users running Lion but won't solve your problem in Leopard.
In Lion, there is a Control Panel setting under Mission Control that says When switching to an app, switch to a space with open windows for that app. Deselect it. Note that when this option is deselected, if you click an app in the Dock with open windows in another space, on the first click you will get your desired behavior, but if you click the icon in the dock again, it will switch to the space currently containing windows for the app.
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Best Answer
Stop Spaces from switching spaces due to an app coming to the foreground:
Or via the GUI:
System Prefs > Spacesand then uncheck the checkbox at the bottom: "When switching to an application, switch to a space with open windows for the application"Stop (slow down) Spaces from switching spaces if your mouse presses against the edge of the desktop: