Bug 169506 - By default, don't use the GTK file picker dialog
Summary: By default, don't use the GTK file picker dialog
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: UI (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
26.2.0.0 alpha0+ master
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: needsUXEval
Depends on:
Blocks: File-Dialog
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Reported: 2025-11-17 22:41 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2025-11-18 19:13 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

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Description Eyal Rozenberg 2025-11-17 22:41:49 UTC
The GTK file picker dialog has been infamous, for decades now, for terrible usability, and has frustrated at least two generations of users. It has a good couple-of-dozen of usability bugs, and it does not look like those are going to get fixed.

_We_ are using that file picker with our GTK VCL (at least, GTK3, not sure about GTK4). We should be using something else, better, instead.
Comment 1 V Stuart Foote 2025-11-18 11:24:08 UTC
Users can choose the DE for their os, so why would we not by default use the FilePicker the DE implements, allows them to configure.  

Unhappy users have always had the ability to use the project's developed file picker:

Tools -> Options -> General 'Open/Save Dialogs' checkbox 'Use LibreOffice dialogs'

IMHO a clear => WF
Comment 2 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-11-18 19:13:32 UTC
(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #1)

1. IIANM (although I may be mistaken), we use GTK3 by default, regardless of the choice of DE.

2. Users choose a DE for a combination of reasons and considerations. The quality of the file picker is only one of them. Unfortunately, many DEs use GTK's file picker. I argue that the file picker is - if anything - a consideration against the choice of a DE, for most users, that is simply overridden by other, more significant, considerations.

> Unhappy users have always had the ability to use the project's developed
> file picker:
> 
> Tools -> Options -> General 'Open/Save Dialogs' checkbox 'Use LibreOffice
> dialogs'

Ahh, an option... well, that puts things in a different light. It does have rather low discoverability (under LibreOffice > General)... and - should we not default to our own dialog with GTK?

Let's see what more people think.