Remote-Containers: No easy way to change the open directory

[HughxDev]

Issue Type: Feature Request

If I attach to a container, then open a specific directory in the container, I cannot change it to a different one, even if I exit the window and re-attach. There is an option to “open a folder inside the container” but it brings me to the system dialog for my host, which is not what I want. (In fact, I don’t even understand what this is supposed to do.)

VS Code version: Code 1.67.0 (57fd6d0195bb9b9d1b49f6da5db789060795de47, 2022-05-04T12:14:47.100Z)
OS version: Darwin x64 20.6.0
Restricted Mode: No
Remote OS version: Linux x64 5.10.104-linuxkit

[chrmarti]

File > Open Folder... should work when you are already connected to a container. What happens when you do that? (Where do you see the “open a folder inside the container” option? Could you attach a screenshot?)

[HughxDev]

@chrmarti File > Open Folder... does work, thanks. I just never thought to do that because I figured it was only useful for opening a folder on my local filesystem. I never would have expected the behavior of a menu item that rudimentary to change. And since Remote Containers is a plugin, I assumed I needed to run a specific Remote Containers command to change the default folder that opens when attaching to the container. That is where I found the Open Folder in Container option. Here is a screenshot, it’s available after doing Cmd + Shift + P.

When I select this I get my local filesystem dialog, which is again the inverse of my expectation, because this label to me means “open a folder existing within the container already”, not “take a folder on your local filesystem and open it in a new container”.

[chrmarti]

I agree it's a bit confusing. It also allows you to connect to another dev container without having to first disconnect from the current. Keeping as-is for now. Thanks.