Bug 511339

Summary: Dolphin does not preserve file selection order when launching Meld
Product: [Applications] dolphin Reporter: Ghislain <ghislain12777>
Component: generalAssignee: Dolphin Bug Assignee <dolphin-bugs-null>
Status: REPORTED ---    
Severity: normal CC: dolphin-bugs-null, kdedev
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 24.12.3   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Ubuntu   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Ghislain 2025-10-29 21:11:51 UTC 
SUMMARY
File selection order not preserved when launching Meld from Dolphin

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
Open Dolphin and navigate to a folder containing two files you want to compare.
Select the two files by clicking them in a specific order (e.g., click new.txt first, then old.txt).
Right-click and choose a custom action or service menu entry that launches Meld with the selected files.
   Example of a /usr/share/kio/servicemenus/meld.desktop file used to launch Meld:
   [Desktop Entry]
   Actions=meld
   Type=Service
   MimeType=inode/directory;application/octet-stream;
   X-KDE-RequiredNumberOfUrls=2

   [Desktop Action meld]
   Name=Compare Files with meld
   Icon=org.gnome.Meld
   Exec=meld %F

OBSERVED RESULT
Meld opens with the same file always appearing in the right panel, regardless of the order in which the files were selected in Dolphin.

EXPECTED RESULT
Meld should receive the files in the order they were selected in Dolphin, so the first-clicked file appears in the left panel and the second-clicked file in the right panel.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Windows: N/A
macOS: N/A
Linux/KDE Plasma: Ubuntu 25.04 with KDE Plasma 6.3.4

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This issue affects workflows where file comparison order matters (e.g., comparing a newer file against an older version). Dolphin appears to pass selected files to external applications in alphabetical or internal order, not by selection sequence. This limits the usefulness of tools like Meld when launched via Dolphin.
Comment 1 TraceyC 2026-01-15 23:30:47 UTC 
Thanks for the bug report. I'm sorry we weren't able to get to this yet. There have been many fixes and improvements since this was reported, and this issue may have been fixed.

Can you please re-test on your system with Plasma 6.5.5 / Dolphin 25.08.3 or later and let us know if you can still reproduce the problem? If you can, please set this report back to REPORTED. Thanks!
Comment 2 Ghislain 2026-01-19 18:11:29 UTC 
(In reply to TraceyC from comment #1)
> Thanks for the bug report. I'm sorry we weren't able to get to this yet.
> There have been many fixes and improvements since this was reported, and
> this issue may have been fixed.
> 
> Can you please re-test on your system with Plasma 6.5.5 / Dolphin 25.08.3 or
> later and let us know if you can still reproduce the problem? If you can,
> please set this report back to REPORTED. Thanks!

Thank you for your feedback. I’m currently running Ubuntu 25.10 with the “KDE standard” package installed, so the latest versions I can test are Plasma 6.4.5 and Dolphin 25.08.1. I’ve checked again, and the issue is still present.
It’s worth noting that the same problem also appears - and is more easily reproducible - when selecting two files and using Right‑click → Share → Copy to clipboard. The order in which the files were selected is not preserved; the pasted clipboard content always follows the same fixed order.
Thanks and best regards.