How to change Ubuntu 20.04 file picker?

Question

I've installed Thunar File Manager normally using apt and I'd like to use it instead of Nautilus since Nautilus doesn't support entering file paths.

I've searched for ways to change the default file manager and followed tutorials and previous answers (like this tutorial), tried the command

xdg-mime default thunar.desktop inode/directory application/x-gnome-saved-search

and testing with xdg-open $HOME worked, but any program that uses a file manager to select a file/folder like VS Code, Google Chrome, Discord still uses Nautilus.

What am I doing wrong? Or does Thunar not support this feature?

I don't know exactly what needs to be done or else I'd post an answer, but the file picker is different than the file manager. — Nmath, Mar 01 '21 at 00:43
Related: Why isn't the file picker a derivative of the file browser and How can I make all applications use Nemo's file selection dialog instead of Nautilus? — steeldriver, Mar 01 '21 at 01:03
Does this answer your question? How can I make all applications use Nemo's file selection dialog instead of Nautilus? — vanadium, Mar 01 '21 at 08:29
I'm a little confused, because I'm relatively inexperienced with the Linux world in general. From what I've gathered, the Nautilus file picker is a native thing in Ubuntu desktop environment that can only be changed by switching the entire desktop environment. Is that correct? — Diego Vieira, Mar 01 '21 at 14:52

mchid · Answer 1 · 2023-03-13T19:26:31.497

The default isn't Nautilus, those applications are using Gtk.FileChooser. Because it's developed by Gnome, it looks and feels similar to Nautilus but it is not the same. However, if you want to enter the full path, just start typing the path.

It will automatically enter into "filename-entry" mode if you type a . or a /

If the file is in your current directory, you can use ./ at the beginning of the path to specify the current directory.

Additionally, you can use CTRL+L to quickly switch to filename-entry mode and then start typing the filename or path to the file. To quickly paste from your clipboard, I believe you can press CTRL+v once to enter into filename-entry mode and then press CTRL+v again to paste a path from your clipboard.

How to change Ubuntu 20.04 file picker?

1 Answers1