How to prevent Mac OS X El Capitan from automatically switching desktop when new application is launched I use multiple desktops to multitask between applications because I like using full screen mode.  My problem is sometimes I run a command in Terminal that launches other applications.  Whenever a new application is launched in OS X, it seems to think that it should automatically change to the "Main Desktop" and set the newly launched application as the active application.  This bothers me because I would like to just run an application in the background without the OS deciding what I should be staring at.

Is there a way to disable or work-around that behaviour?

Note: this, I believe, unfortunately is the same behaviour when you have any application in full screen as your main focus application and you launch another application from the Dock.  It takes your focus directly to that new application.
There is no way to change this behavior. The reason is because your full screen application is contained in a separate virtual desktop, leaving the "default desktop" available for any other apps to run (like the case of efficiency on multiple screens). OS X &amp; macOS work like that. Every aspect of the OS was designed in a way to be "clutter free", so a window on top of a window is a big no no for apple, and will be avoided if possible.