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#1 2017-11-09 16:36:35

Tom B
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Registered: 2014-01-15
Posts: 187
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Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

I use KDE and any time I find a program with the Gtk file dialog I find myself frustrated with it. It's the worst designed UX I've seen probably ever. Even the old Win95 file open dialog was better.

Is there any way to replace it with a sane file dialog?


My main two gripes are:

1) Sometimes you have to single click, sometimes you have to double click (one click selects, one opens. That means if you double click out of habit, it opens the directory AND the file at that position in the list in the next directory...)

2) There is no way to type in a path. Honestly, what were they thinking? I want to paste a file location and just open it without using the crappy  GUI. Nope, I have to navigate directory by directory using the awkward GUI.


Is there any way to replace this awful piece of design with something, anything, more sane?

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#2 2017-11-09 16:40:18

progandy
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Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 5,184

Re: Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

Hi,

Tom B wrote:

2) There is no way to type in a path. Honestly, what were they thinking? I want to paste a file location and just open it without using the crappy  GUI. Nope, I have to navigate directory by directory using the awkward GUI.

You have to press Ctrl-L, then you get a field to enter paths. That is the only sane way to use the dialog.


Tom B wrote:

Is there any way to replace this awful piece of design with something, anything, more sane?

You'll have to patch and compile a custom GTK package.
Edit: Maybe you can also use a gtk3 module

Last edited by progandy (2017-11-09 16:49:24)


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#3 2017-11-09 16:48:59

WorMzy
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From: Scotland
Registered: 2010-06-16
Posts: 11,787
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Re: Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

There's no way of replacing it wholesale AFAIK (besides recoding it as progandy suggests), but you can apparently alter it in some applications (see https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=230974 ), and you always have the option to not use any gtk3 applications on your systems. Some applications still have gtk2 UIs, which you can enable at compile time (check the AUR for these).


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#4 2017-11-09 16:55:33

progandy
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Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 5,184

Re: Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

I just remembered that pantheon-files includes a replacement that you might be able to load as a gtk module.  It depends on zeitgeist, though. I also don't remember how it works and looks.

export GTK_MODULES=pantheon-filechooser-module

(might not be completely correct, but something like that.)

Last edited by progandy (2017-11-09 17:00:42)


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#5 2017-11-09 19:37:14

drcouzelis
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From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 2009-11-09
Posts: 4,092
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Re: Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

progandy wrote:

I just remembered that pantheon-files includes a replacement that you might be able to load as a gtk module.

Holy crap, that's pretty!

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#6 2017-11-09 21:04:13

Tom B
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Registered: 2014-01-15
Posts: 187
Website

Re: Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

progandy wrote:

Hi,

Tom B wrote:

2) There is no way to type in a path. Honestly, what were they thinking? I want to paste a file location and just open it without using the crappy  GUI. Nope, I have to navigate directory by directory using the awkward GUI.

You have to press Ctrl-L, then you get a field to enter paths. That is the only sane way to use the dialog.

Aha, that's an improvement in usability at least. I clicked everything trying to get that to appear.

progandy wrote:

I just remembered that pantheon-files includes a replacement that you might be able to load as a gtk module.  It depends on zeitgeist, though. I also don't remember how it works and looks.

That looks a lot better, I installed the pantheon-files package but export GTK_MODULES=pantheon-filechooser-module has no effect (in Lutris, at least, which is what I'm using to test). I'll keep playing around. At least with ctrl+l the file choose is a little more usable.

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#7 2017-11-09 21:34:45

progandy
Member
Registered: 2012-05-17
Posts: 5,184

Re: Gtk file open dialog hate... can it be replaced?

Tom B wrote:
progandy wrote:

I just remembered that pantheon-files includes a replacement that you might be able to load as a gtk module.  It depends on zeitgeist, though. I also don't remember how it works and looks.

That looks a lot better, I installed the pantheon-files package but export GTK_MODULES=pantheon-filechooser-module has no effect (in Lutris, at least, which is what I'm using to test). I'll keep playing around. At least with ctrl+l the file choose is a little more usable.

Maybe it only works if you set pantheon-files as your default file browser (mime type inode/directory), but I don't think you want that.
https://github.com/elementary/files/blo … lugin.vala

It should be possible to build your own file dialog using the module as an example, but that might be tedious work.

Last edited by progandy (2017-11-09 21:36:44)


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