Bug 94865

Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.3.0)
Installed from:    Debian stable Packages
OS:                Linux

KDE has recently experienced a proliferation of supported network protocols and local protocol handlers (see article: http://osdir.com/Article2159.phtml).

However, the average user has no way to know that these protocols are supported unless they read the press-releases or changelogs (and how many people do that?!)
Users are not born knowing cryptic keywords like:
ftp://, http://, imap://, ldap://, nntp://, pop3://, sftp://, webdav://, audiocd:/, devices:/, info:/, man:/, perldoc:/, settings:/, trash:/, and tar:/.

We must *intuitively* let the users know that these protocols exist by showing a node for each applicable protocol in Konqueror's Tree-view. This is similar to what Xandros File Manager (XFM) does when it displays "NFS Network" and "Windowd Network" in its tree (see screenshot: http://www.xandros.com/images/screenshots/v3/dvd_writer.png).

Granted, most users won't need nodes for handlers like nntp://, webdav://, man:/, or perldoc:/ to appear *by default* in their trees. Other nodes, such as audiocd:/, should appear dynamically (i.e. once an audio CD is inserted).

I am a proponent of keeping the "head node" (similar to "My Linux" in XFM). If a user wants to add a less-used, non-default node (like SFTP), they would right click on the "head node" ("My Linux"), select an option titled "Add Protocol", and choose "SFTP" from a list. After that, "SFTP" would appear as a node in their tree.

Of couse, there would not be any SFTP connections, so the user would have to right click on the "SFTP" node, select "Add Connection" and type in the relevant info. After that, a new connection node will appear under the SFTP node, and the remote directories will appear as folders under the connection node.

In these examples, I described the user right-clicking on the parent node to add child nodes. Another, possibly more intuitive way to add nodes, would be to have an icon titled "Add ChildObject" appear in the right frame after the parent node was clicked on in the left frame. This is similar to the "Add Printer" icon under the "Printers" node in Microsoft Explorer. Personally, I'd prefer having both ways as options: right-clicking and the icon.

In conclusion, here is a summary of the proposed changes:
1) Make Tree-view appear *by default* in Konqueror
2) Have a "head node" in the Tree-view
3) Have the possibility to add nodes for every supported protocol
4) Only include protocols that are automatically detected (e.g. inserted CD's) or already mounted (e.g. NFS partitions) as default nodes