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Bug 650780 - Provide native file chooser dialogs
Provide native file chooser dialogs
Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX
Product: gtk+
Classification: Platform
Component: Widget: GtkFileChooser
unspecified
Other All
: Normal enhancement
: ---
Assigned To: gtk-bugs
Federico Mena Quintero
: 687173 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
 
Reported: 2011-05-22 08:45 UTC by Lukas Sommer
Modified: 2013-07-24 16:43 UTC
See Also:
GNOME target: ---
GNOME version: ---


Description Lukas Sommer 2011-05-22 08:45:09 UTC 
Overview:
Gtk doesn't provide native file chooser dialogs when used on non-GNOME platforms.

Steps to Reproduce:
Just use a Gtk+ application from the KDE workspace.

Actual results:
The application always uses the Gtk+ file chooser dialog.

Expected results:
The application calls the native file chooser dialog of this platform.

Additional Information:
This way, Gtk+ would integrate much better to the native style. Technically this should be possible. Qt provides this feature yet, calling the native Gtk+ file dialog when the application runs on GNOME, KDE dialog when it runs on KDE, Windows file dialog when it runs on Windows ... (http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qfiledialog.html#details). This would be a great improvement for cross-platform concerns and make all Gtk+ based applications have better integration to KDE, MS Windows ...
Comment 1 Emmanuele Bassi (:ebassi) 2011-05-22 12:35:36 UTC 
file selection dialogs in gtk+ are not opaque objects that can be swapped without the developers/applications using them knowing.

it's not possible to provide the native file selection dialog *and* retain the API necessary to make applications work — unless a *substantial* rework of the file selection dialog and a removal of API happens.
Comment 2 Matthias Clasen 2012-10-31 11:03:06 UTC 
*** Bug 687173 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 3 Federico Mena Quintero 2012-11-05 23:38:28 UTC 
I'd be willing to review a patch that implemented simple, one-shot functions for getting filenames with the native file dialog.  They would have implementations for Windows and MacOS, and a default implementation with GtkFileChooserDialog itself.

How does Qt implement GTK+ file dialogs?  Does it actually link to GTK+, or does it use an external program?
Comment 4 Fat-Zer 2013-07-24 16:43:35 UTC 
(In reply to comment #3)
> I'd be willing to review a patch that implemented simple, one-shot functions
> for getting filenames with the native file dialog.  They would have
> implementations for Windows and MacOS, and a default implementation with
> GtkFileChooserDialog itself.
> 
> How does Qt implement GTK+ file dialogs?  Does it actually link to GTK+, or
> does it use an external program?

Qt dynamicly loads functions from libgtk-x11-2.0.
IMHO because C++ symbol names are less predictable when C, gtk for such stuff will have to implement a some sort of wrapper library.