Ok, I found a 'fix' to this. http://lists.suse.com/archive/suse-linux-e/2005-Jul/2394.html What happens is the focus is retained by the left-nav bar when the Install and Remove screen appears. Clicking in the textbox does not set focus. So, what I do is tab until it reaches the text box ( takes a few tabs) Then it works ok. Sounds like Suse has a bug in their gtk programing (if that's what Yast uses).