Bug 514070

Summary:	Dolphin spontaneously enables “Show in Groups” during folder navigation
Product:	[Applications] dolphin	Reporter:	Derek <dcostroff>
Component:	general	Assignee:	Dolphin Bug Assignee <dolphin-bugs-null>
Status:	REPORTED ---
Severity:	normal	CC:	dolphin-bugs-null
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	25.12.0
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Arch Linux
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Derek 2026-01-02 09:21:56 UTC

SUMMARY
While navigating between folders in Dolphin, the “Show in Groups” option may become enabled without the user explicitly toggling it and without entering a folder that previously had grouping enabled. The grouping state appears to change spontaneously during normal navigation, such as clicking through directories or using the Back button.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Open Dolphin.
2. Ensure “Remember view properties for each folder” is enabled.
3. Navigate through multiple directories (e.g. Home → subfolders → parent folders) using single-click navigation or the Back button.
4. During continued navigation, observe that the “Show in Groups” option becomes enabled without any explicit user action.

OBSERVED RESULT
The current folder displays items grouped by type, and the “Show in Groups” option is enabled, despite the user not enabling it.

EXPECTED RESULT
The “Show in Groups” option should remain disabled unless explicitly enabled by the user. Normal folder navigation should not change grouping state.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Arch Linux 
KDE Plasma Version: 6.5.4
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.21.0
Qt Version: 6.10.1
Kernel Version: 6.18.2-zen2-1-zen (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 24 × AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5945WX 12-Cores
Memory: 32 GiB of RAM (31.2 GiB usable)
Graphics Processor: NVIDIA T1000 8GB

Comment 1 Derek 2026-01-02 09:26:51 UTC

In Step 3, I mentioned single-click navigation. Clarification: the issue reproduces with either single-click or double-click navigation enabled. Click mode has no effect on reproducing the problem. The single-click mention in Step 3 should be treated as an example only, not a requirement.

Comment 2 Derek 2026-01-03 01:17:43 UTC

After further testing, my Home folder is currently set to Sort by Modified, with Folders First and Show in Groups both unchecked. However, if I change the sort to Name, enable Folders First, then close and reopen Dolphin, the settings reset to Sort by Modified, Folders First becomes unchecked again, and Show in Groups is re-enabled.

Comment 3 Derek 2026-01-04 15:41:00 UTC

FIXED: I use an external drive for my Downloads folder, swapping it between machines. Booting without it breaks the symlink, so KDE silently sets Home as the Downloads folder via the default Locations settings and applies the Downloads-folder defaults (Sort by Modified, Grouping on, Folders first off) to the Home folder and these settings are forced, there is no changing them that persists. I feel there should be some kind of warning or prompt asking for new locations so users are aware. So just be careful: if you symlink special folders to external drives, a failed mount can silently reset the path.