[KNOWN BUG] When opening location in new tab then double-clicking a subfolder, Thunar forgots new tab's initial location

[NM64]

UPDATE:

It looks like it was this bug, now apparently fixed:
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/-/issues/594

Now just to clarify, fully-updated Mint 20.3 XFCE as of January 2022 is using an older version of Thunar where this bug still exists. For reference, Thunar v4.16.10 included in the 2022-01-30 daily build of Xubuntu 22.04 LTS does not have this bug.

Also for reference, Thunar v4.16.8 as used by Mint XFCE 20.3 as well as Xubuntu 21.10 is where the bug in question occurs.


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On 20.3 XFCE (live or installed), if you open a location in Thunar, then open any other location in a new tab (whether a folder, a drive, etc) and then, in that newly-opened tab, double-click on any sub-folder and then click back once, you'll end up back at the very first location you opened in the window rather than the tab as if Thunar completely forgot about the location that the newly-opened tab started from (and clicking "forward" does not bring it back either)

As a specific example, open "Home" and then, from the left side-bar, open "File System" in a new tab. In that newly-opened tab, double-click on "etc" and then click the back button once - you'll instead end up back at "Home" and, if you then click the forward button once, you will end up back at "etc"

[michael-hi]

I think you're right, although I wouldn't have noticed in the normal course of things as I rarely use tabs in Thunar. I notice also a (possibly related) minor glitch in that if I open Thunar to show my home folder and then click File System on the left hand side, the right-hand pane changes to show all the correct folders but the location bar at the top (if it is set to toolbar style, not pathbar) still shows my home folder.

I compared this with PCManFM in Lubuntu 18.04 on an old netbook and that file manager behaves as expected.

You could if you wish report this to the Thunar developers as a bug if nobody has already:
https://docs.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/bugs

[ricardogroetaers]

As a specific example, open "Home" and then, from the left side-bar, open "File System" in a new tab. In that newly-opened tab, double-click on "etc" and then click the back button once - you'll instead end up back at "Home" and, if you then click the forward button once, you will end up back at "etc"

- The left arrow (<--) goes to the previously visited "folder". This folder is in the other "tab" on the left (it is /home/). To the left whenever possible.

- up arrow (î) goes to the "parent" folder of the folder we are positioned in. The parent folder of "/etc/" is "/" (called "File System" in Thunar).
Up whenever possible.

The designer of a File Manager cannot please Greeks and Trojans simultaneously.

[NM64]

- The left arrow (<--) goes to the previously visited "folder". This folder is in the other "tab" on the left (it is /home/). To the left whenever possible.

I think we may be referring to two separate things. Either that, or what you describe is not occurring as can be proven by simply doing the following (basically a modification of the example I gave in the first post; and you can use a live 20.3 XFCE ISO/USB to guarantee a consistent OS environment):

1. open "Home" in Thunar
2. from the left side-bar, open "File System" in a new tab
3. in that newly-opened tab, double-click on "etc"
4. switch back to the first tab (the one displaying "Home") and double-click on "Downloads" (though any folder in "Home" will work)
5. switch back to the second tab (the one displaying "etc") and click the back button once

If what you were suggesting were the case, then the second tab should now be displaying "Downloads" but, instead, it will be displaying "Home"

...unless I'm just straight-up misunderstanding what you were suggesting is occurring? In which case it may be more clear if you similarly provide an exact example.

[michael-hi]

Hi NM64. No, I can't follow ricardo's logic here either!

Going back to the example in your first post: when you click the back button the right-hand tab should go back to the folder previously displayed in that tab - which is the root folder '/'.

Caja, Nemo and PCManFM do this correctly, but Thunar is doing it wrong.

However, the good news is that I just tried out Manjaro XFCE on the distrotest.net website. That distro has a slightly newer version of Thunar (4.16.10) and it works correctly Well, it still seems to have the minor glitch in toolbar-style mode that I mentioned before, but we can't have everything...

[ricardogroetaers]

NM64,
Sorry if my wording was unclear.
The translation into English is done by software, not by a human translator.

I followed your instructions, and quoted them, in the post above and commented on the results. I did not see anything different occurring than what I observed.

[NM64]

I did not see anything different occurring than what I observed.

That makes sense, but the conclusion you came to with regards to why that behavior occurs doesn't match what one would then expect if you follow the different process of steps that I provided in my second post.

Also apparently newer versions of XFCE do not behave this way (I'm currently downloading a copy of the 2022-01-30 Xubuntu 22.04 daily build to test some other XFCE-related issues so I should be able to verify this as well).

[ricardogroetaers]

1. open "Home" in Thunar
2. from the left side-bar, open "File System" in a new tab
3. in that newly-opened tab, double-click on "etc"
4. switch back to the first tab (the one displaying "Home") and double-click on "Downloads" (though any folder in "Home" will work)
5. switch back to the second tab (the one displaying "etc") and click the back button once

If what you were suggesting were the case, then the second tab should now be displaying "Downloads" but, instead, it will be displaying "Home"

...unless I'm just straight-up misunderstanding what you were suggesting is occurring? In which case it may be more clear if you similarly provide an exact example.

Following your instructions. I will not post the pictures as I think it is unnecessary and will take up too much space.

Item:
1- Okay.
2- Ok.
3- Ok.
4- The first tab doesn't show "start" (/home/user/) but "/home/", as per your instructions.
I must then click on the folder with my user name and open it.
And inside it, click on "Downloads".
5- Ok, back to the folder "/home/", which is the folder opened before the second tab was opened (item 2).

The reference is to the folder opened relative to the second tab, not the folder in which we are positioned in that second tab.
Although a bit odd at first glance, the Thunar designer did it this way.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[Hoser Rob]

I've been using Xfce for years and my experience has always been the same as the OP's. My 'fix' is to go back one level and then open the last folder in a new tab.

Thunar used to REALLY stink, if that's any consolation.

[NM64]

The reference is to the folder opened relative to the second tab, not the folder in which we are positioned in that second tab.
Although a bit odd at first glance, the Thunar designer did it this way.

But here's the part I don't get - why would the back/forward buttons go "Home" -> "Etc" (skipping over "File System") rather than "Home" -> "File System" -> "Etc"?

The latter behavior I would 100% understand, it's this skipping over of 'File System' in my example that I just don't get.

[michael-hi]

It looks like it was this bug, now apparently fixed:
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/-/issues/594

[NM64]

It looks like it was this bug, now apparently fixed:
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/-/issues/594

Ah yes, that very much describes exactly what I'm seeing!

Good to know that it is indeed a known bug, so I'll edited the title of this thread accordingly.

EDIT: I've also tried Thunar v4.16.10 included in the 2022-01-30 daily build of Xubuntu 22.04 LTS and it does not have this bug.

For reference, Thunar v4.16.8 as used by Mint XFCE 20.3 as well as Xubuntu 21.10 is where the bug in question occurs.

I notice also a (possibly related) minor glitch in that if I open Thunar to show my home folder and then click File System on the left hand side, the right-hand pane changes to show all the correct folders but the location bar at the top (if it is set to toolbar style, not pathbar) still shows my home folder.

Looking through the reported issues on their git, I don't suppose the following is what you're describing?:
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/-/issues/667

EDIT: And for reference, Thunar v4.16.10 included in the 2022-01-30 daily build of Xubuntu 22.04 LTS does still have the bug that you describe.

[michael-hi]

I notice also a (possibly related) minor glitch in that if I open Thunar to show my home folder and then click File System on the left hand side, the right-hand pane changes to show all the correct folders but the location bar at the top (if it is set to toolbar style, not pathbar) still shows my home folder.

Looking through the reported issues on their git, I don't suppose the following is what you're describing?:
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar/-/issues/667

Thank you for this link. It's interesting to see what another Thunar user thinks about how the toolbar "breadcrumbs" should work. To be honest, though, I find it rather confusing and I'm not sure there's anything much wrong with the present arrangement. It's probably not connected with what I noticed because that involved only one tab being open.

Having thought a bit more about what I described as a minor glitch, I am now thinking it might be deliberate. The toolbar is perhaps designed not to go left of the user's home folder unless it has to (i.e. if the user actually explores within the system files or deliberately clicks the little left-pointing arrow beside the toolbar). This might be to avoid confusing the non-expert user, who could even be misled by the word 'home' and not unreasonably think that is his or her home folder. So I don't think I will report something that might on reflection be a feature not a bug.

[NM64]

Having thought a bit more about what I described as a minor glitch, I am now thinking it might be deliberate. The toolbar is perhaps designed not to go left of the user's home folder unless it has to (i.e. if the user actually explores within the system files or deliberately clicks the little left-pointing arrow beside the toolbar).

The only issue with this logic is that, if you open a location from the left-side bar that is a different physical drive altogether (e.g. an SD card, a USB flash drive, or a secondary internal drive), the issue you describe with the breadcrumbs does not occur - it seems to only occur with "File System".

This is even the case with opening the location in the current tab - you don't even need to open it in a new tab.

[michael-hi]

That's a good point, although I suppose the toolbar is more or less forced to change in that situation because the other drive would be shown on a different path: /media rather than /home. I'm still not 100% sure whether this counts as a bug but I briefly checked the other file managers again (Caja, Nemo, PCManFM) and they work as expected in this situation so I have reported it as a bug and will see what they say...

[NM64]

the other drive would be shown on a different path: /media rather than /home.

But the breadcrumbs appear as "/home/[sd card or whatever]" rather than just "/[sd card or whatever]"

I suppose I should have included a screenshot...