When downloading a file using Firefox or Chrome, the default filename shown in nautilus often needs changed. By default the filename shown is highlighted and the action of typing a new name will delete the default and begin entering what is typed instead. This is perfect behavior, but if you navigate to a another folder from the default (a frequent occurrence), it only works at the top level. Clicking a sub-folder breaks the default behavior. At this stage, even though the default filename is still highlighted, typing any character of your desired new filename will open a search bar and not over-right the default filename. This seems to me a bug. If not a bug, I’d like to learn how to insert a new filename without navigating the pointer up to the highlighted name and carefully re-highlighting the default name (often very long) so as to delete it and enter a new one? This used to work but no longer does.
Nautilus is not involved in this, that’s the GTK file chooser.
I think a large part of the issue is a theme problem. In the GTK 3 version of Adwaita the unfocused selection color is the same blue as the focused one. This is no longer the case in the GTK 4 variant of Adwaita as included in libadwaita. There the selection in the entry turns gray when moving focus away from it.
I’m unsure how focused vs unfocused highlight is a concern. The action of typing a preferred filename does one thing prior to changing directories and something completely different after selecting the 2nd nested folder as destination but not the first selected folder. This is inconsistent behavior.
After clicking into the list of files you are moving the keyboard focus to the list of files and away from the entry. So you are not typing a preferred file name anymore, but instead are typing in the list of files, which triggers a search. It is just not really obvious that this is what is happening, because the unfocused entry still looks focused due to the selection being blue.
Ahh. You are right. Clicking a folder from the LEFT side does not impact the focus of the filename, but then the 2nd click (a folder from the right side) does pull the focus down to the filelist. This is aggravating as daily I save files that increment by date and each belongs in a separate file tree. When it happens that the current location is the correct one, I simply type the name I use for that type file, overwriting (without point and click). Later, saving a file to a new location requires navigating away from the last used location, which pulls the focus away, but as you mentioned, this is not apparent due to the highlighting being identical as the focus.
Quite confusing to experience, let alone describe–I’m glad you were able to untangle the issue. Unfortunately, I see no solution. Sometimes I need to mouse up to the filename and highlight/delete/replace the default, other times I won’t–just type a new one. Maybe I should look into setting a key def for that action.
thanks
Ctrl + L moves the focus to the file name entry, so you could simply always press that before entering the file name.
using computers since the first Dec pdp11’s and never knew that…
of course I never used a windows machine or anything other than 'nix and linux so maybe that’s why. Thanks again!
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