SUMMARY Double-clicking (to open a file) *DESELECTS* the file in question. This is a regression from earlier versions of Dolphin/Plasma. This makes it difficult to know which file you were currently working with in Dolphin's window. You have to tap LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW to select an adjacent file, which will once again "select" an icon for you to resume your workflow. What makes this even more strange is that while the file's icon is deselected, hitting the ENTER key will open up the file again. (It's as if you clicked "empty space", when in reality you did not.) STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1. Go to a folder with many photos (or any files) 2. Double-click to view/open the file 3. Close the file 4. BUG: The file's icon had already been "deselected" and is no longer highlighted If you notice, this happens *immediately* upon the second mouse click when you double-click. HINT: It acts *AS IF* you clicked empty space when you didn't. EXPECTED RESULT It should not deselect the file's icon when you double-click it. SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS Operating System: Manjaro Linux KDE Plasma: 6.1.5 KDE Frameworks: 6.5.0 Qt: 6.7.2 Dolphin: 24.08.1 Kernel: 6.11.0-6-MANJARO (64-bit) Graphics Platform: X11 Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® Xe Graphics ADDITIONAL INFORMATION This also happens on Arch Linux (latest updates as of October 4, 2024), under a Wayland session.
Can reproduce so setting status CONFIRMED Does not occur if system is set to open items on single click Operating System: Arch Linux KDE Plasma Version: 6.1.90 KDE Frameworks Version: 6.6.0 Qt Version: 6.8.0 Graphics Platform: Wayland
(In reply to Paul Worrall from comment #1) > Does not occur if system is set to open items on single click Indeed. It does not occur with "single-click to open" or if you use the ENTER key to open a file. It only occurs (as a new bug) if you are using "double-click to open". This might not be Dolphin-specific (maybe it's from a Plasma/Qt update), but it's the most obvious application to demonstrate this bug.
This really hinders workflow, and it's very obvious. Anyone who uses Dolphin will notice, including the devs. Imagine going through a folder with images or videos, maybe to inspect them or decide how to organize them. You keep losing your location in the folder, since it acts like you just clicked "empty space". It's to the point I want to revert back to an earlier version of Plasma before this bug existed. (Plasma 5?)
There are plans to make the state when a file is "current" but not "selected" more visible. Currently there is only an underline under the name, which is not visible enough, so I understand your problem of "it [being] difficult to know which file you were currently working with in Dolphin's window." Here is the current state of that issue: https://invent.kde.org/system/dolphin/-/issues/53
(In reply to Felix Ernst from comment #4) > There are plans to make the state when a file is "current" but not > "selected" more visible. Currently there is only an underline under the > name, which is not visible enough, That's not the issue, though. This is a new bug (after some recent updates). Previously, it doesn't matter how you opened a file, it would remain "selected. Now, if you double-click to open a file, it (for some reason) reverts to a "hover" state, rather than the being "selected". Try it: Single-click to open? Works as expected. File remains "selected". Enter key to open? Works as expected. File remains "selected". Double-click to open? New bug! File is in a "hover" state. Before some recent updates: Double-click to open? Works as expected. File remains "selected". Which update caused this new bug? I'm not sure. But it must be fairly recent. (I recall a new update where "Dolphin is now set to double-click to open by default". But that could be a red herring.)
(In reply to flan_suse from comment #5) > (In reply to Felix Ernst from comment #4) > > There are plans to make the state when a file is "current" but not > > "selected" more visible. Currently there is only an underline under the > > name, which is not visible enough, > > That's not the issue, though. This is a new bug (after some recent updates). No, I did understand the behaviour change you are reporting. That change was intentional because we currently do not have any feedback e.g. when users are moving files to the trash which means they might delete files accidentally by pressing the Delete key. I made accidental deletion of files less likely by not implicitly selecting files during frequent actions like opening files. Similarly, it seems easier if only actual selection of files leads to selected files and not any type of interaction with a file. My last comment was to make you aware of plans which should at least alleviate the issue you mentioned in the second paragraph of your initial report about not being able to identify the file one has last interacted with.
(In reply to Felix Ernst from comment #6) > I made accidental deletion of files > less likely by not implicitly selecting files during frequent actions like > opening files. Then why does *single-clicking* to open still keep the file selected? Why does *pressing the enter key* to open still keep the file selected? Why does this "safety feature" *only* affect double-click to open?
(In reply to flan_suse from comment #7) > Then why does *single-clicking* to open still keep the file selected? Neither single-clicking a file in single-click mode nor double-clicking a file in double-click mode currently selects a file. > Why does *pressing the enter key* to open still keep the file selected? Because in a purely keyboard workflow moving around constantly selects the current item. You won't be able to scroll a selected item out of view simply by using the arrow keys. This is different to how the selection is simply kept when a user scrolls with the mouse. In a keyboard workflow it is expected that a user always has one item selected. > Why does this "safety feature" *only* affect double-click to open? It does not. This is also about going up in the file system hiearchy and single-click mode.
*** Bug 496624 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
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(In reply to Mozo from comment #11) > Please, I beg you, revert this change until the more visible icons problem > is fixed. Please. It's reall PITA to work with many files. It's an everyday > torture. Be human for a while. I think these decisions are inorganic. They don't come from the bottom up, but rather are ideas that the developers decide to implement arbitrarily. We just need to be thankful, I guess. Fun story: I was managing a large folder with photos, doing copy, move, and delete operations, and I had to keep *FORCEFULLY* re-selecting the last image I was looking at, in order to properly move it to another respective folder. (I made a few mistakes along the way because of this silly "safety feature" from the devs.) The entire process was painful. Of course, this isn't a problem on other desktop environments, nor was it a problem with an earlier version of KDE.
I'm seriously considering switching to a different file manager because of this new so-called feature. So far the best thing I found is pcmanfm-qt. Mainly because it also has a permanent filter toolbar, which is rare among file managers. But it has drawbacks. Search isn't to my liking. It does not remember settings for individual directories. Bookmark icons can't be changed individually for at-glance identification.
I will donate $1000 if this "feature" is reverted and prevented from happening again in the future
This intentional change is clearly a usability regression. Sometimes I open a folder containing dozens/hundreds/thousands of files that I want to open and possibly delete immediately after closing them by pressing delete or shift+delete. After the change in Dolphin, pressing the said shortcuts has no effect, and also it's harder to found the last opened file (highlighted with a underline) in a folder containing dozens/hundreds/thousands of files.
Can we at least receive some patch for this regresison? It's out of my mind how this landed in the master...
This change in behavior also affects folder navigation, as noted by a user on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/1ividwi/dolphin_no_longer_highlights_last_visited_folder/ I use KDE, COSMIC (Pop!_OS), Windows 10, and other DE's / file managers in the past. Only KDE's Dolphin behaves this way. You *really* feel like you're playing a game with the UI, rather than just enjoying your PC naturally. The disruption in workflow shadows other features that might have been implemented in Plasma 6.2 and 6.3. The file browser, other than a web browser, is one of the most heavily used features of a desktop environment. My workflow has been a frustrating experience ever since this change was slipped into an update. Every day I am reminded I'm using KDE... but not in a positive sense. Users shouldn't have to consciously think about overcoming a usability oversight.
There's an ongoing discussion on discuss.kde.org: https://discuss.kde.org/t/dolphin-no-longer-highlights-last-visited-folder-after-navigating-back/30556/13 This really needs to be fixed.
This is a very annoying bug! Especially when working with multiple files like opening family vacations photos and videos one by one to show to someone something or to search for something in them. Having so many in a folder or looking at one of the longer videos, it's very easy to forget after closing them where you were in the list.