Nautilus “Open with …” context menu gone on upgrade to yakkety

[scruss]

Release: 16.10
Package: nautilus, 1:3.20.3-1ubuntu3.1

Expected behaviour:

1. Open Files
2. Right-click on icon, move to "Open with …", and pick suitable app from an immediate list
3. File opens in selected application.

This was standard behaviour on 16.04, and is expected behaviour from Windows and Mac OS.

Actual behaviour:

1. Open Files
2. Right-click on icon, note lack of "Open with …" option, and select "Open With Other Application"
3. "Select Application" window opens instead of immediate list. Window contains long list
4. Scroll down list until application appears, select it, and file opens in selected application.

This is a usability regression. No explanation is given why this is gone, or how to recover the (expected, standard, rational) previous behaviour.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.10
Package: nautilus 1:3.20.3-1ubuntu3.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.8.0-28.30-generic 4.8.6
Uname: Linux 4.8.0-28-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.20.3-0ubuntu8
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Sun Dec 4 17:01:37 2016
InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-03-08 (637 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn" - Release amd64 (20141022.1)
SourcePackage: nautilus
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to yakkety on 2016-12-02 (2 days ago)
usr_lib_nautilus:
 dropbox 2015.10.28
 gnome-terminal 3.20.2-1ubuntu5

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thanks, that seems a wanted change from upstream, there is https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=747706 describing similar concerns to yours

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The upstream bug is being used to discuss another issue, you might want to open a new report on bugzilla for the submenu behaviour

[Khurshid Alam (khurshid-alam)]

@Sebastien

The decision taken by upstream is somewhat permanent and goes by somewhat their so called HIG. What is the point of filing another bug upstream when we already know the answer?

I don't understand these weird decision taken taken by Ubuntu in recent time. Nautilus 3.14 was working wonderfully well. But yet Ubuntu decided to upgrade. Now everything is left half-baked. No global menu, several context menu action missing, nautilus crashes every time when it is copying large .git etc...list goes on on and on.

About this bug I can provide a patch for nautilus and gtkappchooser to bring back old menu. But will Ubuntu accept it?

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The nautilus update is bringing changes and issue indeed, but we can't really stay on an old unmaintained version for ever especially when some users and other desktop variants would like to get the update. Having the old version often lead to new bugs when e.g gtk is updated.

That said about that specific issue we would probably consider a patch if it's not too complex/difficult to maintain over updates, but it might be worth trying to convince upstream as well that the old behaviour was better, the current maintainers are quite open to comments

[Zsolt (muzso)]

"the current maintainers are quite open to comments"

Doesn't seem like it.

Check out:
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=747706
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=777132

In the former several people expressed their frustration about this change, no comment was arguing for the change, they were told to open a separate issue. They did (see the second link) and there the maintainer doesn't seem to be reasonable about this at all. He is very polite though, but pretty certain about the new behaviour being the best one for most of the users.

The maintainer referred to this usability test:
https://renatagegaj.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/gnome-usability-test-results-part-1/
https://renatagegaj.wordpress.com/2016/08/26/gnome-usability-test-results-part-2/

It has nothing to do with Nautilus and it's based on a feedback from 10 users!!! Wow. How many users does Gnome have from how many countries/cultures, professions, age groups, etc.? And this is not the first time that I see some unexplainable change occur in a major component (i.e. something that I use on a daily basis) of Ubuntu with a similiar reaction from the maintainer(s). And it'll not get fixed/reverted before one or two Gnome/Ubuntu releases, I'm pretty sure of it. I only hope somebody comes up with a PPA where a patched version of Nautilus will become available with the old behaviour of the "Open with" right-click menu item.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Closing, it's an upstream UI decision and is not going to be changed in Ubuntu alone, it should reported on https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/issues and discussed there

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

> the current maintainers are quite open to comments

LOL you're kidding right? Not only they're not open to comments, they are not even willing to recognize their mistakes.

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

You seriously need to either fork Gnome or replace it with something else.
It's RUINING Ubuntu.