Dolphin should respect .hidden files

Bug #391839 reported by pinzia
24
This bug affects 5 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
dolphin
Invalid
Wishlist
kdebase (Ubuntu)
Won't Fix
Wishlist
Unassigned

Bug Description

dolphin (and konqueror) don't respect .hidden file as nautilus.
for thunar there is this bug https://bugs.launchpad.net/thunar/+bug/110521
in kde these https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=153864 and https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=64740
 thank's

Revision history for this message
In , Kdebugs-hq (kdebugs-hq) wrote :

Version: (using KDE KDE 3.1.4)
Installed from: Compiled From Sources
Compiler: n/a n/a
OS: Linux

I would love if kdesktop would implement support for .hidden files ala the newest gnome release and OS X.

You can see an example of my desktop here:
http://www.lusis.org/static/screenshot-marked.png

The folders marked in red, I don't wish to see. I am aware that I can hide them with the ageold trick of renaming the folders with . in front but many applications such as evolution do not allow you to change the location of the datastore at all.

This desire is drawn out of my use of my home directory (~/) as my desktop root. I find it helps me keep things more organized when I'm forced to look at them cluttering up my desktop.

In the newest version of Gnome and OS X, one can create a file in any directory called ".hidden". The syntax of that file is simply a list of folders and files you wish to not be displayed on the desktop or within the file manager. Apple uses this to hide the disk volume folders from the Finder. Since I'm unable to move the evolution datastore, I would love to be able to at least HIDE it from my desktop view.

Revision history for this message
In , Jens-bugs-kde-org (jens-bugs-kde-org) wrote :

Hi,

I second this wish. I would like to be able to do this as well.

Thank you!

Revision history for this message
In , Uno Engborg (uno) wrote :

This would also be very useful, when a specific folder is shared to other operating systems like windows. When a folder is used under e.g. windows that OS might add files that is of no use when viewed from the UNIX side.

It is also a good thing to use for a sysadmin that wants to give his users a more MacOS-X like user experience, where only the most important folders are shown.

This is a must have.

Revision history for this message
In , DominicL (dlepiane) wrote :

Can I vote against this bug? This type of behaviour obfuscates the file system adding basically no benefit at all. Most users will stick to the default folders. Especially on OS X where there are default folders called "Documents", "Pictures", "Movies", etc. That is a much better way to improve the user experience.

The use of .hidden files is just going to cost processor cycles and disk accesses for every directory listing. And it certainly does not protect the file system since file permissions are still required to prevent access to unauthorized users.

Please consider removing this wishlist item. I've seen it show up in Kubuntu so if this is already something that has been created, I would consider it a bug that should be removed ASAP to prevent further confusion especially to power users and system administrators. Having to "just know" about .hidden files is a barrier to these important groups of users.

Revision history for this message
In , Uno Engborg (uno) wrote :

Dlpiane, you are right in that .hidden files are not supposed to be a replacement for permissions, it is an extension of the normal dot-file system. Just like ordinary dotfiles, .hidden should be used to hide files that are of no use to ordinary users other than in some unfrequent situation.

Another thing, if sysadmins gets confused by this, they should consider some other way to make their living. Real power users would certainly be able to remove or add them to their liking if they can't they are not power users.

To ordinary users, that know little or nothing of Unix, hiding files that only are of use to sysadmins and power users makes their lifes easier. Only seing things that are related to their work makes the system more focused. Given the fact, that in most workplaces I have seen, there are far more ordinary user than sysadmins. I would think it is much more important to cater for the needs of the ordinary user than the sysadmin.

All in all, it boils down to should we create a good user interface for Unix or should we just create a good user interface. If our goal was to increase the understanding of how Unix works, then perhaps we should remove the GUI altoghether.

As for wasted processor cycles, I would say that this is not much of a problem on modern hardware. If we have cycles enough to display shadows below our menus or having files instantly indexed by search engines, we certainly have cycles enough to process a few .hidden files, especially as there most likely would be no .hidden files in directories like Documents, Pictures, Movies,... where the user is most likely to browse.

Revision history for this message
In , Jens-bugs-kde-org (jens-bugs-kde-org) wrote :

It's just one .hidden file in each root directory, so the overhead would not be big - just keep that file in memory and filter every directory display through it. We already do that with dot files and with every file type selector, so it's not a big deal.

Second, I absolutely agree with comment #4: We need to care about people who do *not* customize everything. This is something that Gnome (I've been toying around with Ubuntu lately) has done really well - good, stable defaults, where "stable" means e.g. "I know where to find $FEATURE (e.g. my DVD drive) and it's not going to change".

You can't expect everybody to start searching for configuration options first thing. The ideal desktop is one that doesn't *need* to be configured. With .hidden files, we remove the need for the user to care about stuff that he can't do anything with anyway.

Revision history for this message
In , Uno Engborg (uno) wrote :

Actually, as I see it, it should be possible to put .hidden files in any directory not just the /, but even so, the overhead will not be much to worry about. Most directories ordinary users will visit contains stuff they want to see, so these directories will most likely not have a .hidden in them.

The most common use of this feature will probably be to hide things like /etc, /dev, /proc, /boot, /usr, /lib,... and other top level files that the sysadmin feels is disturbing to his users. Some of them could perhaps be hidden by default, but that is something that could be tested out on real users once the feature of supported .hidden files is included.

Revision history for this message
In , Ivo Emanuel Gonçalves (saoshyant) wrote :

*** This bug has been confirmed by popular vote. ***

Revision history for this message
In , Ivo Emanuel Gonçalves (saoshyant) wrote :

Funny thing is, I pretty much remember seeing this feature working on KDE 3.5.6 under Kubuntu. When I upgraded to 3.5.8, it vanished. Why, I have no idea.

I personally like to hide the uglyness of the unix file system. .hidden is perfect in that regard because we can disable it permanently by deleting the file, or temporarily by enabling an option in the file browser (aka Konqueror) to see hidden files.

Gtk applications, even when running under KDE, still show support for this, so why does KDE wish to fall behind GNOME by not implementing a feature that it had actually implemented BEFORE? Makes no sense to me.

Also, isn't .hidden a proposal from freedesktop.org?

affects: dolphin (Ubuntu) → kdebase (Ubuntu)
Changed in kdebase (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Changed in dolphin:
status: Unknown → Confirmed
Changed in kdebase (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Wishlist
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Harald Sitter (apachelogger) wrote :

Please write up a proper description and find a descriptive name for this report.

I don't see why we would have to keep a report that doesn't contain _any_ information but links to other reports (that are upstream anyway). That said, this report will be closed as invalid if it doesn't get an appropriate amount of information soonish.

Changed in kdebase (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
pinzia (pinzia) wrote :

ok, thanks

from upstream

Feature Request: Support .hidden file

dolphin would implement support for .hidden files ala the newest gnome release and OS X.

In nautilus (gnome file manager), one can create a file in any directory called ".hidden". The syntax of that file is simply a list of folders and files you wish to not be displayed on the desktop or within the file manager.
Apple uses this to hide the disk volume folders from the Finder. Since I'm unable to move the evolution datastore, I would love to be able to at least HIDE it from my desktop view.

Konqueror on dapper supported this feature for this blueprints https://blueprints.beta.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/hide-filesystem-structure/

.hidden file would be a freedesktop feature for all file manager, t's very important for uniformity feature in kde and xfce (kubuntu and xubuntu respectively)

sorry for bad english

Revision history for this message
In , David Bailey (dr-baileynet) wrote :

Those interested in this bug may be interested in the related bug #3212. It requests the ability to hide specific file types and hide individual files at the user's request. https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3212

Changed in kdebase (Ubuntu):
status: Incomplete → Triaged
summary: - dolphin and .hidden file
+ Dolphin should respect .hidden files
Revision history for this message
Jonathan Thomas (echidnaman) wrote :

Hello there,

Kubuntu currently does not have the manpower necessary to implement this feature as a distribution, so we are closing this report. Worry not, though, because your wish item is still being tracked by KDE at http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=64740 . Once KDE implements this feature, we will include it in the Kubuntu release which contains the KDE version the feature was implemented in.

Thanks for understanding, and have a nice day.

Changed in kdebase (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Won't Fix
Revision history for this message
In , Jonathan Thomas (echidnaman) wrote :

*** Bug 219016 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Revision history for this message
In , Jonathan Thomas (echidnaman) wrote :

*** Bug 153864 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Revision history for this message
In , Adam Reeve (adreeve) wrote :

The reason I'd like to see this implemented is in the case where a certain directory cannot be renamed but I'd still like it hidden. For example, I installed Battlefield 2 using Wine which puts a configuration directory in ~/Battlefield 2 (and can't be configured to be called anything else). I can hide this in Gnome by adding that directory to a .hidden file but this doesn't work in KDE.

Revision history for this message
In , Kdebugzilla-org-markie1 (kdebugzilla-org-markie1) wrote :

there's a patch at bug #245994 for kde4 dolphin hidden files; in case people have more current views to air they should consider restating them there :-)

Changed in dolphin:
importance: Unknown → Wishlist
Changed in dolphin:
status: Confirmed → Unknown
Revision history for this message
In , Feng Chao (chaofeng) wrote :

Move to Kfile. There is another bug 246260 there. It has less votes.

Revision history for this message
In , Bruno Nova (brunonova) wrote :

Is this feature ever going to be added to KDE? It's 2014 already!

The standard way of hiding a file (prepending a dot) requires renaming it, so it's not always possible. That's why this feature would be a very nice addition!
And, to please everyone, you could add a configuration option to enable/disable this feature.

There is a patch in Bug #246260 (no idea if it works).

Revision history for this message
In , Christoph-maxiom (christoph-maxiom) wrote :

I mark it as a duplicate, despite this being older and having more votes, because bug 246260 has recent discussion and a patch in the works.

Votes are not automatically transferred, see bug 265099.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 246260 ***

Changed in dolphin:
status: Unknown → Invalid
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