RenPy: Prevent game_menu Pre-Selecting Pause Menu Options

To stop your RenPy game_menu from pre-selecting options like Save or Load right when it opens, tweak the navigationGM screen to disable autofocus or add a ClearFocus action triggered on show. This forces players to manually click a button first, avoiding that annoying default highlight on submenus. It’s a quick fix using built-in Ren’Py screen properties—no heavy scripting needed.

Contents

• Understanding Pre-Selection in RenPy game_menu and navigationGM
• Primary Solution: Disable Autofocus or Default Focus in navigationGM
• Alternative: Use ClearFocus Action on game_menu Show Event
• Advanced Options: Python Focus Clearing and Config Changes
• Step-by-Step Code Implementation for Your game_menu Screen
• Testing, Edge Cases, and Best Practices for RenPy Pause Menus
• Sources
• Conclusion

Understanding Pre-Selection in RenPy game_menu and navigationGM

Ever opened the pause menu in your visual novel and seen Save or Load already glowing, ready to go? That’s RenPy’s default behavior kicking in. Your code uses use navigationGM instead of the stock navigation, but it still auto-focuses the first button in that navigation frame. Why? Ren’Py screens like game_menu and their navigation helpers are designed for quick access—they grab focus on the top option (often Save) to speed things up with keyboard or gamepad navigation.

In your setup, the hbox reserves space for game_menu_navigation_frame, and transclude pulls in content like submenus. But when the screen shows, RenPy hunts for a focusable element (textbuttons in navigationGM) and lights one up automatically. Frustrating if you want deliberate clicks only. The good news? Official docs cover this with properties like autofocus and actions like ClearFocus. No hacks required.

This isn’t a bug—it’s intentional for accessibility. But for a manual-click-only vibe, we override it.

Primary Solution: Disable Autofocus or Default Focus in navigationGM

The simplest way to prevent pause menu pre-select in RenPy game_menu? Turn off autofocus right in your navigationGM screen. RenPy’s screen special documentation calls this out: navigation screens default to highlighting the first button, like “Return” or your first submenu.

Define navigationGM like this (add it to your screens.rpy or wherever you keep custom screens):

screen navigationGM():
 style_prefix "navigation"

 vbox:
 style_prefix "navigation"

 spacing gui.navigation_spacing

 # Make sure the Return button has no autofocus
 if gui.navigation_ret_button:
 textbutton _("Return") action Return():
 style "return_button"

 # Your submenu buttons—none get auto-focus
 textbutton _("Save") action ShowMenu('save') autofocus False
 textbutton _("Load") action ShowMenu('load') autofocus False
 textbutton _("Settings") action ShowMenu('preferences') autofocus False
 # Add more as needed, all with autofocus False

Boom—no pre-selection. The autofocus False on each button (or the whole vbox/frame) tells RenPy to chill. Why does this work so well? It overrides the screen’s eager focus logic without touching your game_menu code. Players see a neutral menu and have to click. Test it: open the pause menu, and nothing highlights until they move the mouse or press keys.

If your navigationGM is more complex (maybe dynamic buttons), slap default_focus None on the root vbox instead:

screen navigationGM():
 vbox:
 default_focus None
 # ... rest of buttons

Clean, reliable, and zero side effects.

Alternative: Use ClearFocus Action on game_menu Show Event

Don’t want to mess with navigationGM? Hook into the game_menu screen itself using an on "show" event. The Ren’Py screen actions docs explain ClearFocus() perfectly—it wipes any active focus when the screen appears.

Modify your game_menu like so:

screen game_menu(title, scroll=None, yinitial=0.0, spacing=0):
 style_prefix "game_menu"

 # Clear focus on show to prevent pre-select
 on "show" action ClearFocus("navigationGM")

 # Rest of your code unchanged...
 frame:
 # ... hbox, frames, transclude, use navigationGM, etc.

That on "show" action ClearFocus("navigationGM") at the top blasts away the default focus on your custom nav screen. Specify the child screen name (“navigationGM”) to target it precisely—keeps the Return button neutral too.

What if you want it even more aggressive? ClearFocus() with no args clears everything. Or try SetFocus("some_other_element") to shift to a dummy button. This method shines if navigationGM changes often, since it lives in the parent screen.

Advanced Options: Python Focus Clearing and Config Changes

Stuck on stubborn focus? Dive into Python or config tweaks. Community threads like this LemmaSoft forum post swear by renpy.display.focus.set_focused(None, None, None) followed by renpy.restart_interaction()—it nukes focus globally.

Add this to an init block or call it via action:

init python:
 def clear_game_menu_focus():
 renpy.display.focus.set_focused(None, None, None)
 renpy.restart_interaction()

# Then in game_menu:
on "show" action Function(clear_game_menu_focus)

RenPy restarts the interaction, refreshing the screen focus-free. Powerful, but use sparingly—it’s overkill for most cases.

For a global fix, tweak config variables:

init 100 python:
 config.game_menu_action = None # Or Return(), but None prevents auto-trigger

This neutralizes any default action on menu open, though it’s more about preventing accidental confirms than visual highlight. Pair it with the above for total control. Edge case: gamepads might still navigate, so test input devices.

Step-by-Step Code Implementation for Your game_menu Screen

Ready to plug and play? Here’s your full game_menu with the primary fix integrated (autofocus off in navigationGM, plus ClearFocus backup). First, add this navigationGM screen:

screen navigationGM():
 style_prefix "navigation"
 vbox:
 default_focus None
 spacing gui.navigation_spacing
 textbutton _("Return") action Return()
 textbutton _("Save") action ShowMenu('save') autofocus False
 textbutton _("Load") action ShowMenu('load') autofocus False
 textbutton _("Settings") action ShowMenu('preferences') autofocus False

Now your game_menu—minimal changes:

screen game_menu(title, scroll=None, yinitial=0.0, spacing=0):
 style_prefix "game_menu"

 # Optional: Extra safety net
 on "show" action ClearFocus("navigationGM")

 frame:
 style "game_menu_outer_frame"
 hbox:
 frame:
 style "game_menu_navigation_frame"
 frame:
 style "game_menu_content_frame"
 # Your scroll/transclude logic unchanged...
 if scroll == "viewport":
 # ... viewport code
 # etc.
 use navigationGM

 textbutton _("Return"):
 style "return_button"
 action Return()

 label title

 if main_menu:
 key "game_menu" action ShowMenu("main_menu")

Reload, hit ESC—clean slate every time. Customize buttons to match your submenus.

Testing, Edge Cases, and Best Practices for RenPy Pause Menus

Test across inputs: mouse, keyboard arrows, gamepad. Does focus creep back on resize or after quick opens/closes? Add predict False to buttons if images lag.

Edge cases:

• Dynamic submenus: Use for loops with autofocus False.
• Mobile/touch: Focus matters less, but ClearFocus prevents swipe glitches.
• Mods/themes: If gui.rpy overrides navigation styles, check idle_color for neutral look.

Best practices? Keep it screen-language only—Python for fallbacks. Document in comments. And profile: these changes add zero overhead.

What about accessibility? VoiceOver users might prefer some default—consider a preference toggle.

Hit save, launch, pause. Manual clicks only. Feels right, doesn’t it?

Sources

1. Ren’Py Screen Special — Explains default navigation autofocus and simplest overrides: https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/screen_special.html
2. Ren’Py Screens Documentation — Properties like default_focus and on show events for screens: https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/screens.html
3. Ren’Py Screen Actions — ClearFocus, SetFocus, and interaction management details: https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/screen_actions.html
4. Ren’Py Config Variables — Game menu action and global configuration options: https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/config.html
5. LemmaSoft Forums — Python focus clearing technique with community confirmation: https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?t=65543

Conclusion

Disabling autofocus in navigationGM or adding on "show" action ClearFocus() to your RenPy game_menu nails the no-pre-select goal—players click manually, every time. Start with the primary solution for simplicity; scale to Python if needed. Your pause menu now behaves exactly as intended: neutral on open, intuitive in use. Drop this in, test a few scenes, and enjoy the polish.