When a window is not active, many Mac apps use the first click to activate the window and ignore it as an action. Hover to focus makes the window under your pointer active before you click, so the click goes to the button you aimed at.
The behaviour
Click a button in a window that is behind another, and often nothing happens except the window comes forward. A second click does the job.
Why
Apps may choose whether an activating click is also passed through to the control under it. Many do not pass it, on the idea that you clicked to focus the window. Some apps do, which is why behaviour varies from app to app.
A way around it
Activate the window before you click by simply resting the pointer on it. Hover to focus does that, so the single click lands on the button.
Which apps do it
It varies. Many document-based and Cocoa apps treat an activating click as "just focus" and ignore it as an action. Others, including many Electron apps, act on the first click. If an app does both, you are seeing the effect of its own settings.
Habits that reduce wasted clicks
- Click the title bar or an empty area to activate a window before using a control.
- Use ⌘` or the window switcher to bring a window forward by keyboard.
- Try hover to focus so activation is done for you.
Questions people ask
Can I change this in System Settings?
No. The behaviour is per app.
Try Casement
Casement is a menu-bar app for Mac that puts each Chrome profile in the Dock as its own icon and adds snap layouts, hover-to-focus, a window switcher, Dock window lists, a drop shelf and display controls..