# Focus Handling
Certain elements such as `TextInput` accept input from the mouse/finger and
also key events originating from (virtual) keyboards. In order for an item to receive
these events, it must have focus. This is visible through the `has-focus` (out) property.
You can manually activate the focus on an element by calling `focus()`:
```slint
import { Button } from "std-widgets.slint";
export component App inherits Window {
VerticalLayout {
alignment: start;
Button {
text: "press me";
clicked => { input.focus(); }
}
input := TextInput {
text: "I am a text input field";
}
}
}
```
Similarly, you can manually clear the focus on an element that's currently focused, by calling `clear-focus()`:
```slint
import { Button } from "std-widgets.slint";
export component App inherits Window {
VerticalLayout {
alignment: start;
Button {
text: "press me";
clicked => { input.clear-focus(); }
}
input := TextInput {
text: "I am a text input field";
}
}
}
```
After clearing the focus, keyboard input to the window is discarded until another element is explicitly
focused. For example by calling `focus()`, an element acquiring focus when the user clicks on it, or when
pressing tab and the first focusable element is found.
If you have wrapped the `TextInput` in a component, then you can forward such a focus activation
using the `forward-focus` property to refer to the element that should receive it:
```slint
import { Button } from "std-widgets.slint";
component LabeledInput inherits GridLayout {
forward-focus: input;
Row {
Text {
text: "Input Label:";
}
input := TextInput {}
}
}
export component App inherits Window {
GridLayout {
Button {
text: "press me";
clicked => { label.focus(); }
}
label := LabeledInput {
}
}
}
```
If you use the `forward-focus` property on a `Window`, then the specified element will receive
the focus the first time the window receives the focus - it becomes the initial focus element.