I just updated Kubuntu from 25.10 to 26.04 to find out that the option to open an executable file in a text editor has been hidden behind a dropdown list.
In 25.10 the option either took the place of the “Run Executable” option or was alongside it. Is it possible to revert this behaviour? I haven’t had any luck looking through dolphin’s settings.
You can middle click to open the file in Kate now.
At the moment this is hard-wired.
Middle clicking is inconvenient with a trackpad, are there any plans to make this a configurable option?
Where can I change the application that is used for the middle click? It seems LibreOffice is configured as the default for that on my system.
For executable files, middle click is always the main file association, i.e. if it’s a .sh file and you set kate up for editing these that’ll be the middle click. For non-executables it’s always the secondary association. You can change the order by going into file properties and click the “change” button next to “Open with”
In fact, there is in the settings Interface > Confirmations Tab > last entry
The UI does not cover well this case, but this works.
That worked, I think? But then when I switched it back and forth a few times it stopped changing the options so either I somehow just right clicked on the wrong file initially and didn’t notice or I need to restart to fix whatever just broke.
…But unfortunately regardless of that I still probably won’t keep that setting changed because it also has the side effect of making .desktop files with Type=Application impossible to launch through dolphin, which is something I personally use a lot.
The entire reason why I prefer right clicking and selecting the first option to open it in a text editor instead of double left clicking and selecting the text editor in the confirmation prompt is because that popup always shows up in the centre of the screen while the dropdown is right next to the cursor most of the time.
I’m sorry, but this seems like a terribly opinionated UX choice. I’ve been using KDE 5 (with Kubuntu 24.04) for quite a while now, and only just moved to KDE 6 this week (with Kubuntu 26.04). And as someone who regularly edits BASH scripts with Kate, I’ve developed a muscle memory to right-click an executable .sh file and selecting the first option to open it with Kate (as it was in KDE 5). And now it feels like a minefield, and it could be just a matter of time until I accidentally run a script when I meant to open it with Kate. It slows down my workflow, and causes unnecessary anxiety.
Sure, middle-clicking is okay, and I wouldn’t really mind making it into a new habit. But it would be hard to forget the old muscle memory. It feels like a security issue just waiting to happen, when someone like me with old muscle memory runs an executable without meaning it, especially considering the executable runs without any confirmation, and in the background! The first option in the context menu should NEVER have this much potential for danger IMHO.
Please at least add an option to remove/replace the “Run Executable” option. Thanks.
