Bug report #6131: New layer creation file browser doesn't resolve aliases in MacOS - QGIS Application - QGIS Issue Tracking

Bug report #6131

New layer creation file browser doesn't resolve aliases in MacOS

Added by Alexandre Leroux over 11 years ago. Updated over 8 years ago.

Status:	Closed
Priority:	Normal
Assignee:	-
Category:	GUI
Affected QGIS version:	master	Regression?:	No
Operating System:	MacOS X	Easy fix?:	No
Pull Request or Patch supplied:	No	Resolution:
Crashes QGIS or corrupts data:	No	Copied to github as #:	15465

Description

In QGIS 1.8.0-2 for MacOS X from KyngChaos, aliases don't get resolved in the layer creation file browser when creating new layers. If the alias is a directory, it is treated as a file instead of a directory.

Steps to reproduce:
(A) Menu Layer => New => New shapefile browser...
(B) then try to browse through an existing alias, you can't, it's considered as a file instead of an alias.

This bug doesn't occur when opening or saving a QGIS Project. It doesn't happen either when adding an existing layers to a Project.

Thanks - Alex

new-shapefile_symlink.png (17.5 KB) Larry Shaffer, 2012-08-01 12:41 PM

History

#1 Updated by Larry Shaffer over 11 years ago

File new-shapefile_symlink.png added

Alexandre,

The New Shapefile Layer... action uses a subclassed QFileDialog, and shows a Qt, instead of Mac OS X native, save file dialog. This means Mac alias files will not be resolved. However, symbolic links will be and can be used instead of aliases. Check 'man ln' in Terminal.app for more info (e.g., ln -s src_file_or_dir symlink).

Note: while symlinks will be followed in that dialog, the symlink will also be part of the path saved in the QGIS project file (not the original, resolved path). So, you will have to maintain the symlink and not move it, or your paths to data source will break.

The Open Project... dialog is a native OS X dialog, so it has no issues with Mac alias files.

There are currently inconsistencies with dialogs of this nature in 1.8.0 and will not be fixed until next full version. You can use the workaround provided in the meantime, but please keep this issue open so that it can be referenced in the upcoming GUI changes. Thanks.