Typing dir name in a file open dialog ...

[Gerald Gutierrez <gutier intergate bc ca>]

Last time I checked I still couldn't do this. Perhaps someone can tell me why.

When I pop up an open file box in some GNOME application and I type in a
directory name, it tells me that it errored trying to open the "file"
instead of going to that directory and displaying its contents so that I
can choose a file there. I hope this isn't an attempt to force people to
navigate directories solely through the GUI.

Am I just not using it "correctly" or is this feature really missing?