Seems reasonable enough.

But what if the user actually wants to save the file in a new empty dir?

How about a middle ground? we could display the error message and select the existing dir, then user then could press Enter to open it and save there.

Thanks for the feedback. I'd like to know what "select the existing dir, then user then could press Enter to open it and save there" looks like and what this might work like before I would agree to that because given only this description a panel indicating an error sounds like more typing and clicking than I'd expect to want to do. I also don't think that indicating an extant directory is an error, no matter whether I indicate that directory by clicking or typing.

Most of the time I indicate a directory to this panel, I need to work inside the directory that I indicated whether that directory has items in it or not. If I need a new empty directory, I would create the new empty directory I need and indicate that directory.

I've posted a gif to this merge request: https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio/-/merge_requests/141

Created attachment 131791 [details]
The panel I'm referring to showing the error I think is undesirable.

Thanks for the demonstration animation.

In reference to: https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio/uploads/6df68f21d5ccca1ac7be6b2b21b40b1b/Peek_2020-09-19_16-41.gif that in Dolphin, you've created a "kt" directory where this directory already exists. You got an error ("A folder named /home/ahmad/dev/kio/building-dir/bin/kt already exists") and the error panel has an OK button. You clicked the OK button to dismiss that error panel, the error panel disappeared, and then the animation loops.

I think there are a couple of misunderstandings in this discussion:

1. I'm talking about a different panel than what you're showing in the animation: What you're showing is in Dolphin, but what I'm talking about is the behavior of the open/save directory panel applications use when they want you to point a program to a directory. In this panel, one does not see all of the same icons and have the same functionality as a Dolphin file browser window. I've uploaded a WebM attachment (Attachment 131791 [details]) to show the panel I'm talking about.

2. The context is different: In the open/save directory panel one can create a new folder (via the "New Folder..." button) and it is there that I think creating a folder with the same path as one that already exists should not return an error but instead take the user to that folder just as if the folder were just created because in the context of this panel one is trying to say something like "I wish to point the application to this specified folder" and let the user get on with what they were working on.

To get to the panel I'm referring to, I used qBitTorrent version 4.2.5 (64-bit) on Debian GNU/Linux:

Operating System: Debian GNU/Linux 
KDE Plasma Version: 5.17.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.70.0
Qt Version: 5.14.2
Kernel Version: 5.8.0-1-amd64
OS Type: 64-bit
Processors: 8 × AMD FX(tm)-8150 Eight-Core Processor
Memory: 31.3 GiB of RAM

I imagine that there are other apps one could use to get to the same panel. This panel is chiefly about manipulating directories -- one can make a new directory (as you see I tried to do) but making a directory that matches a directory which already exists produces an error instead of taking the user to that directory.

I'm not well-versed in the set of KDE or Qt panels, so I'm not sure if we're both referring to the same panel (perhaps with a different configuration) or the same error. My main point is that in the middle of doing something else I think that getting to the desired directory should trump the details of whether that directory exists.

I see; IINM, it's the same dialogue, from KIO KFileWidgets and co., but with a different option set (where you can only select dirs), I'll test that one too.

https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-integration/-/merge_requests/8

Git commit 5f84f12d68ef33478b7b6f0052061c13505104ab by David Faure, on behalf of Ahmad Samir.
Committed on 10/10/2020 at 12:43.
Pushed by dfaure into branch 'master'.

In file dialogs, creating a dir that already exists should select it

If the user tries to create a new directory in the open/save file dialog,
and that directory already exists, select/highlight it in the view.

M  +3    -0    src/filewidgets/kdiroperator.cpp
M  +14   -1    src/filewidgets/knewfilemenu.cpp
M  +10   -0    src/filewidgets/knewfilemenu.h

https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio/commit/5f84f12d68ef33478b7b6f0052061c13505104ab

Actually this particular bug is fixed in plasma-integration, in kdirselectdialog. So it's fixed in master and I've just cherry-picked it to Plasma/5.20.

The KIO part is for the regular file open dialog and knewfilemenu.

Sorry about the confusion.

This bug is still reproducible on neon unstable.

Operating System: KDE neon Unstable Edition
KDE Plasma Version: 5.20.80
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.76.0
Qt Version: 5.15.0

You mean with qbittorrent? or with the open/save file that's used in e.g. kate?

(In reply to Ahmad Samir from comment #12)
> You mean with qbittorrent? or with the open/save file that's used in e.g.
> kate?

with the open/save file dialog

I tested again with recent-ish git snapshot, seems to work here.

Do you know the git commit that the kio package on neon is built from? (it was committed ~ 6 days ago to kio).

(In reply to Ahmad Samir from comment #14)
> Do you know the git commit that the kio package on neon is built from? (it
> was committed ~ 6 days ago to kio).

unfortunately I do not know.

I've tested again and it seems work here, I've asked on IRC if someone running neon can test too (hopefully we'll get some feedback).

Created attachment 132722 [details]
sceenshot taken on neon unstable

My screenshot shows the result when I try to create a directory that already exists.

Operating System: KDE neon Unstable Edition
KDE Plasma Version: 5.20.80
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.76.0
Qt Version: 5.15.0

(In reply to Patrick Silva from comment #17)
> Created attachment 132722 [details]
> sceenshot taken on neon unstable
> 
> My screenshot shows the result when I try to create a directory that already
> exists.
> 
That's a different, new, feature not directly related to the commit in comment#9. https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio/-/merge_requests/180

We may need to adapt that new behaviour to the kdiroperator use case...

> Operating System: KDE neon Unstable Edition
> KDE Plasma Version: 5.20.80
> KDE Frameworks Version: 5.76.0
> Qt Version: 5.15.0

A possibly relevant merge request was started @ https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio/-/merge_requests/199

Git commit 9cc4b4c76e7b7c837608a5c22853e673bf73876f by Méven Car.
Committed on 31/10/2020 at 17:42.
Pushed by meven into branch 'master'.

In file dialogs, select an existing dir when trying to create it

M  +5    -0    src/filewidgets/kdiroperator.cpp
M  +7    -0    src/filewidgets/kdiroperator.h
M  +1    -0    src/filewidgets/kfilewidget.cpp
M  +18   -5    src/filewidgets/knewfilemenu.cpp
M  +9    -0    src/filewidgets/knewfilemenu.h

https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio/commit/9cc4b4c76e7b7c837608a5c22853e673bf73876f

Thanks for working on this!

I was a bit confused as to when I should expect to be able to see the change you filed; should the change be visible in any of the following software versions on the following architecture?

Operating System: Debian GNU/Linux
KDE Plasma Version: 5.19.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.74.0
Qt Version: 5.15.2
Kernel Version: 5.9.0-4-amd64
OS Type: 64-bit
Processors: 8 × AMD FX(tm)-8150 Eight-Core Processor
Memory: 31.3 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: NV106

From the "Version Fixed In:" field in the bug report, the fix should be in Frameworks 5.76.