diff --git a/PartPreviewWindow/GcodeViewBasic.cs b/PartPreviewWindow/GcodeViewBasic.cs
index 428295b88..895aae343 100644
--- a/PartPreviewWindow/GcodeViewBasic.cs
+++ b/PartPreviewWindow/GcodeViewBasic.cs
@@ -510,13 +510,16 @@ namespace MatterHackers.MatterControl.PartPreviewWindow
                 navigationWidget.Margin = new BorderDouble(0, 0, 20, 0);
                 layerSelectionButtonsPannel.AddChild(navigationWidget);
 
-
                 selectLayerSlider = new Slider(new Vector2(), 10, 0, gcodeViewWidget.LoadedGCode.NumChangesInZ - 1, Orientation.Vertical);
                 selectLayerSlider.ValueChanged += new EventHandler(selectLayerSlider_ValueChanged);
                 gcodeViewWidget.ActiveLayerChanged += new EventHandler(gcodeViewWidget_ActiveLayerChanged);
                 AddChild(selectLayerSlider);
                 SetSliderSize();
 
+                // let's change the active layer so that it is set to the first layer with data
+                gcodeViewWidget.ActiveLayerIndex = gcodeViewWidget.ActiveLayerIndex + 1;
+                gcodeViewWidget.ActiveLayerIndex = gcodeViewWidget.ActiveLayerIndex - 1;
+
                 BoundsChanged += new EventHandler(PartPreviewGCode_BoundsChanged);
             }
         }
diff --git a/PartPreviewWindow/PartPreviewMainWindow.cs b/PartPreviewWindow/PartPreviewMainWindow.cs
index 36c6dcee1..f77e65ca6 100644
--- a/PartPreviewWindow/PartPreviewMainWindow.cs
+++ b/PartPreviewWindow/PartPreviewMainWindow.cs
@@ -79,11 +79,6 @@ namespace MatterHackers.MatterControl.PartPreviewWindow
             tabControl.AddTab(new SimpleTextTabWidget(layerView, 16,
                         ActiveTheme.Instance.TabLabelSelected, new RGBA_Bytes(), ActiveTheme.Instance.TabLabelUnselected, new RGBA_Bytes()));       
 
-            if (Path.GetExtension(printItem.FileLocation).ToUpper() == ".GCODE")
-            {
-                tabControl.TabBar.SwitchToPage(layerView);
-            }
-
             this.AddChild(tabControl);
             this.AnchorAll();
 
@@ -94,6 +89,14 @@ namespace MatterHackers.MatterControl.PartPreviewWindow
 
             ShowAsSystemWindow();
             MinimumSize = new Vector2(400, 300);
+
+            // We do this after showing the system window so that when we try and take fucus the parent window (the system window)
+            // exists and can give the fucus to its child the gecode window.
+            if (Path.GetExtension(printItem.FileLocation).ToUpper() == ".GCODE")
+            {
+                tabControl.TabBar.SwitchToPage(layerView);
+                partGcodeView.Focus();
+            }
         }
 
         PerformanceFeedbackWindow timingWindow = null;