diff --git a/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/BrowserCard.tsx b/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/BrowserCard.tsx
index 7833aaf2..431fce3d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/BrowserCard.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/BrowserCard.tsx
@@ -823,7 +823,11 @@ const BrowserCard: React.FC<Props> = ({
       data-select-meta={JSON.stringify({ name: activeTitle || 'Browser', url: activeUrl })}
       // Marks a kept-alive card parked off-screen (it belongs to another dashboard); fit-to-view must skip it or it pans the canvas to chase it and the card bleeds onto the dashboard you're viewing.
       data-keepalive-hidden={keepAliveHidden ? '1' : undefined}
-      onPointerDownCapture={() => onBringToFront?.(browserId, 'browser')}
+      onPointerDownCapture={(e: React.PointerEvent) => {
+        onBringToFront?.(browserId, 'browser');
+        // Capture-phase so chrome clicks (tab strip, URL bar) the children swallow still select the card; clicks inside the guest page never reach the host at all. Shift keeps the bubbled toggle path.
+        if (e.button === 0 && !e.shiftKey) onCardSelect?.(browserId, 'browser', false);
+      }}
       onClick={(e: React.MouseEvent) => {
         if (justDraggedRef.current) return;
         onCardSelect?.(browserId, 'browser', e.shiftKey);
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/NoteCard.tsx b/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/NoteCard.tsx
index 7728eb3b..d6a48e19 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/NoteCard.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/cards/NoteCard.tsx
@@ -255,7 +255,11 @@ const NoteCard: React.FC<Props> = ({
       data-select-type="note-card"
       data-select-id={noteId}
       data-select-meta={JSON.stringify({ name: 'Note', content: content.slice(0, 60) })}
-      onPointerDownCapture={() => onBringToFront?.(noteId, 'note')}
+      onPointerDownCapture={(e: React.PointerEvent) => {
+        onBringToFront?.(noteId, 'note');
+        // Capture-phase so a click the textarea swallows still selects the note; shift keeps the bubbled toggle path.
+        if (e.button === 0 && !e.shiftKey) onCardSelect?.(noteId, 'note', false);
+      }}
       onClick={(e: React.MouseEvent) => {
         if (justDraggedRef.current) return;
         onCardSelect?.(noteId, 'note', e.shiftKey);
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/hooks/state/useDashboardSelection.ts b/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/hooks/state/useDashboardSelection.ts
index 6b117039..8e1ed192 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/hooks/state/useDashboardSelection.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/app/pages/Dashboard/hooks/state/useDashboardSelection.ts
@@ -96,9 +96,13 @@ export function useDashboardSelection(
           }
           return next;
         }
-        // Plain click selects the clicked card (collapsing any multi-select to it) so spawn-beside-selection actually fires; deselect = empty-canvas click or Esc.
-        if (prev.size === 1 && prev.has(id)) {
-          return prev;
+        // Plain click/press selects the clicked card so spawn-beside-selection actually fires; deselect = empty-canvas click or Esc. An already-selected member keeps the whole selection (a press also starts multi-drag; collapsing would break it) but moves to last so the clicked card is the spawn anchor.
+        if (prev.has(id)) {
+          if (Array.from(prev.keys()).pop() === id) return prev;
+          const next = new Map(prev);
+          next.delete(id);
+          next.set(id, type);
+          return next;
         }
         return new Map([[id, type]]);
       });
@@ -212,6 +216,8 @@ export function useDashboardSelection(
   const handleCanvasMouseDown = useCallback(
     (e: MouseEvent) => {
       if (e.button !== 0 && e.button !== 2) return;
+      // A press starting on a card is a card interaction (select/drag), not a marquee; arming here would make the mouseup deselect the card that was just clicked.
+      if ((e.target as HTMLElement)?.closest?.('[data-select-id]')) return;
 
       marqueeOriginRef.current = { screenX: e.clientX, screenY: e.clientY };
       isDraggingMarqueeRef.current = false;