Find in Finder doesn’t always activate the Search box.

mhutson wrote:

It’s unpredictable and annoying. What's the issue?

Unpredictable and/or inconsistent issues are hard to troubleshoot. Like others here, I can’t replicate the issue. It’s possible something else (another app) is ‘stealing’ focus from the search window as you launch it.

Try restarting your Mac without the option to reopen windows. Does it happen then? If so, see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode, which disables 3rd party extensions and performs some system cleanup.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

I can't duplicate this. Does the same thing happen if you try in a different user account? Have you tried starting in Safe Mode?

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

What happens if you use Spotlight?

mhutson wrote:

In Finder, when I’m in a window and I type command-f, a new Searching tab opens and a text cursor appears in the Search box, so I start typing my search. But since I upgraded MacOS to Tahoe a few weeks ago, sometimes this doesn’t happen as it should. Instead, a new Searching tab opens, but I have to manually click the Search box before typing. It’s unpredictable and annoying. What's the issue?

Have you tried clicking the search icon in the upper right corner in Finder? Although I can’t replicate the problem either.

Still can’t replicate. Before my prior post, I was using an external display but in clamshell mode. Just opened the display, Command-F in a Finder window opens a search box with the cursor active in it whether the window is on the internal or the external display.

neuroanatomist wrote:

Still can’t replicate. Before my prior post, I was using an external display but in clamshell mode. Just opened the display, Command-F in a Finder window opens a search box with the cursor active in it whether the window is on the internal or the external display.

Likewise