SUMMARY Coming from https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=426354#c6 I am creating this bug as a follow up. Basically I think some kind of hint that a folder contains hidden files is helpful. Especially when the folder contains only hidden files, as currently a message is displayed that the folder is empty (which is technically not true). There has been reasoning that other parts of Dolphin treat hidden files similarly (I think hidden items aren't included in the item count of a folder, either). Possibly that should also be changed.
Created attachment 145869 [details] The info box used in kcm for compositor Would support this. It can easily happen (if you disabled the display of hidden files) that you might think a folder is empty and can be deleted, if though it isn't. It would also be helpful if you select 'all' (only non-hidden, displayed) files to copy them somewhere, but indeed not all files are copied. Visually, the info box which is used in the kcm for compositor could be used. It isn't too obstructive, but also can not be overlooked.
I made a post on the KDE sub-reddit today and it really went off the rails in the wrong direction in the comments, for very strange and unexpected reasons. But the basic idea was that I was using a USB thumb drive to copy a file to another machine, and forgot that the file I was copying (the only file on the drive) was a dotfile. So when I jumped on the target machine and opened the drive in Dolphin, I was briefly confused by the "Folder is Empty" message that Dolphin displays when no files are _visible_. I knew that was probably not true, but for a moment I also thought maybe I had failed to place the file on the drive, or pulled it out too soon. Then I toggled the "Show hidden files" setting and there was my file. And Dolphin stopped saying "Folder is Empty", because of course there was a file now displayed in the folder. Some of the folks in the Reddit comments got really wrapped around the post by the idea that the file manager should display a message about their being some hidden files, and offering a way to toggle the "Show hidden files" option. Which was something I suggested. That's fine. That's not really a necessary feature, or at least a lot of users will seemingly get pretty upset if that were to become the default. Maybe as an opt-in option? The main thing that bothered me about the brief incident is simply that "Folder is Empty" is a false statement when there are dotfiles still in the folder. I don't want my file manager to be telling me things that are not true. Especially things that might confuse me, when I'm not paying attention. What I would like to see is Dolphin either reserving the declaration of "Folder is Empty" for when the folder is truly empty, or have that text no longer being displayed in any circumstance. Because it's either A) not true, or B) not necessary, since the user can see that the folder is empty. The only circumstance I can think of where the declaration rather than lack of declaration would be useful, is knowing that the folder isn't simply failing to update itself, or being slow to load content from a remote location. In that case, I would suggest something like "Nothing to Display" would be a more fitting announcement that the loading of the folder contents is finished, and there is nothing more to wait for. This might work better, because if there were hidden dotfiles and the user has "Show hidden files" disabled, it is still a true statement, but it does not convey a false idea that nothing exists in the folder if there are hidden dotfiles. And if there is literally nothing in the folder, it is still a true statement. Because there is nothing in the folder to be displayed in that case, regardless of the "Show hidden files" setting. It could be possible to use "Folder is Empty" if the folder is literally empty, and "Nothing to Display" in other circumstances, but I believe that difference might trigger the folks who seem to think of "hidden files" as some form of "security through obscurity" (the reasons given were numerous and varied, and quite imaginative). Better to just have a single message, but one that is never going to be literally untrue, as "Folder is Empty" often is.
I've verified the behavior hasn't changed in git-master. I went searching and found this issue after a few users in a Solus Matrix channel complained about it. I think this is worthwhile to implement