Thunar needs a "connect to server" menu entry/dialog box

Submitted by Julien [nodiscc]

Assigned to Jannis Pohlmann

Link to original bug (#10490)

Description

Created attachment 5235 nautilus connect to server dialog

Hi,

I think a "connect to server" menu in Thunar is lacking. Thunar is already able to connect to network shares (SMB/SFTP/WebDAV...) using gvfs, but it's not discoverable at all. The user has to type sftp://user@server:port/ or something similar for other protocols.

sftp is not a good example, because it's mostly used by tech people who will read docs and find a way to connect to the server, but the fact is that most software/web apps/sites documentations do not provide such a link when they explain how to connect to a service (FTP space, WebDAV shares...). They just present the user with a separate username, password and server address. I would just do the same if I gave credentials for a SFTP share.

Even if I like the use of URIs because they're easily shareable, it's difficult for someone without knowledge to use them, or understand what they do. It can also be hard to remember the exact syntax. Having no menu entry/dialog/GUI for this makes the adoption of not-non-free, decentralized, not-web-based file sharing solutions harder for non-technical users.

I would appreciate a "connect to server" dialog box in Thunar, accessible from he toolbar or the "File" menu. Nautilus had one for years and that's almost the only feature i miss from this file manager.

What do you think?

Attaching screenshots of said dialog.

Attachment 5235, "nautilus connect to server dialog":