diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_button.cc b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_button.cc
index c30bf13ef2..fb07ecffe9 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_button.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_button.cc
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ ArdourButton::render (cairo_t* cr, cairo_rectangle_t *)
 	}
 
 	//user is currently pressing the button.  black outline helps to indicate this
-	if ( _grabbed && !((_elements & Menu)==Menu) ) {
+	if ( _grabbed && !((_elements & Menu)==Menu) && _action) {
 		cairo_set_line_width(cr,1);
 		rounded_function (cr, 1, 1, get_width()-2, get_height()-2, _corner_radius - 1);
 		cairo_set_source_rgba (cr, 0, 0, 0, 1.0);
@@ -446,6 +446,10 @@ ArdourButton::render (cairo_t* cr, cairo_rectangle_t *)
 	}
 	
 	//I guess this means we have keyboard focus.  I don't think this works currently
+	//
+	//A: yes, it's keyboard focus and it does work when there's no editor window
+	//   (the editor is always the first receiver for KeyDown).
+	//   It's needed for eg. the engine-dialog at startup or after closing a sesion.
 	if (_focused) {
 		rounded_function (cr, 1.5, 1.5, get_width() - 3, get_height() - 3, _corner_radius);
 		cairo_set_source_rgba (cr, 0.905, 0.917, 0.925, 0.8);