OMG - what.!?! 
Ok, so now you made me go and re-read the manual… 
Fantastic.! There it is - ‘Pin’ an item to prevent it automatically closing… exactly what I’m asking for…!!
But wait; it doesn’t want to work here. The ‘pin’ in the Track Control settings says you can ‘Pin’ items to stop them closing automatically, but it doesn’t work. Have you tried it.? Am I doing something wrong maybe.? I’ve tried selecting the item, clicking the pin; nothing. Panels still auto close. I tried a drag-n-drop the pin to the item (that was a long-shot)… but still, nothing… What’s your trick @peakae please…?