SUMMARY In any Dolphin Window of file selection dialog, it is possible to select a file using the keyboard, i.e. typing a prefix of its name. Instead, when the Desktop has focus, if you type any letters, KRunner kicks in. I think that Desktop should behave like any folder: when you type a letter, a matching file (if any) should be selected. KRunner should be opened using its ALT + SpaceBar shortcut. STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Minimize all the windows 2. Select any file on the desktop 3. Type the first letter of another file OBSERVED RESULT KRunner opens EXPECTED RESULT The file whose name starts with the typed letter should gain selection SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS Linux/KDE Plasma: Manjaro Lunux KDE Plasma Version: 5.19.5 KDE Frameworks Version: 5.74.0 Qt Version: 5.15.1
This has annoyed me as well from time to time. However I imagine if we change it, we're bound to annoy the people who like the current behavior.
Maybe make this configurable, but leave the default as it is? I have seen a request here and there to disable this feature and quite a few people who actually use it.
+1 for making this configurable. Please also consider that, in the mainstream operating system, the desktop has the "file selection" behavior... thus many people are accustomed to it. Furthermore, right now there is no way to select a Desktop file using the keyboard , or to look for a file in a crowded Desktop (which are common use cases, at least for me) other that firing up Dolphin, selecting the Desktop folder, and looking for the file... which is quite lengthy. Thank you so much for your astonishing work!
*** Bug 446044 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
krunner can be sued to find files on the desktop but if you disable krunner so that it does not activate when you start typing on the desktop, then keyboard input is currently ignored. perhaps the better fallback behavior is a return to file search as if you were in dolphin so that you can still find files on the desktop.
*** Bug 516813 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Made an attempt at implementing this with some guidance from Nate Graham: https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/merge_requests/3599
Git commit 81f846f92df9e7c62c11c7dd3b94db3162e905b6 by Nate Graham, on behalf of Guillermo Steren. Committed on 18/03/2026 at 20:59. Pushed by ngraham into branch 'master'. FolderView: Add configurable type-ahead search This MR adds the ability to use Dolphin-style type-ahead search/icon selection directly on the desktop, and unifies configuration with KRunner, allowing selection of who handles the keypresses on Desktop. This config is available in ConfigIcons view. * Feature: Users can type to jump to icons. * UX Safety: It is disabled by default to ensure that pressing a key still opens KRunner by default. * Configurability: Added radio buttons to select between type-ahead behaviour and krunner. (option dissapears if krunner is not running and feature becomes enabled automatically) * Old config migration: Added an update script to auto-enable KRunner to react to keypresses if it was disabled earlier, since now FolderView config takes precedence. * Detects if KRunner is not available and hides configuration, defaulting to capture keypresses on desktop and reacting to them. Also active for popups. Since ActivateWhenTypingOnDesktop in KRunner's config is no longer used to control KRunner's launch, the config option was removed and behavior defaulted to true in https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-workspace/-/merge_requests/6399. FIXED-IN: 6.7.0 M +3 -0 CMakeLists.txt M +4 -0 containments/desktop/package/contents/config/main.xml M +34 -0 containments/desktop/package/contents/ui/ConfigIcons.qml M +47 -1 containments/desktop/package/contents/ui/FolderView.qml M +65 -1 containments/desktop/plugins/folder/foldermodel.cpp M +0 -3 kcms/runners/krunner/krunnersettingsbase.kcfg M +0 -16 kcms/runners/krunner/ui/main.qml A +72 -0 kconf_update/50-krunner-activate-typing.sh A +7 -0 kconf_update/50-krunner-activate-typing.upd https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/commit/81f846f92df9e7c62c11c7dd3b94db3162e905b6
Git commit d0872979b7cc15c6a3d0811ee45daaec98f42c27 by Nate Graham, on behalf of Guillermo Steren. Committed on 18/03/2026 at 20:59. Pushed by ngraham into branch 'master'. Adapt KRunner plumbing to type-ahead setting being on the desktop now Removed activateWhenTypingOnDesktop variable check as the config key backing it no longer exists, with the feature now being toggled in FolderView. This commit complements https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/merge_requests/3599 which adds the ability to use Dolphin-style type-ahead search/icon selection directly on the desktop, and unifies configuration with KRunner allowing selection of who handles the keypresses on Desktop. This config is available in ConfigIcons view. M +2 -16 shell/desktopview.cpp M +1 -5 shell/desktopview.h https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-workspace/-/commit/d0872979b7cc15c6a3d0811ee45daaec98f42c27