[olug] Problems navigating directory structure in java swing gui app under linux

[dekauff at cox.net]

I'm trying to navigate a directory structure in Netbeans-5.5 under linux and it will not let me go any deeper in the tree than the level I'm on. For example, say I'm in /home/don/. When I  bring up a gui to navigate to a directory I can click on the name of a directory in /home/don but it will not let me go beyond that.
 
The behavior i expect is that the directory selection module will allow my chosen directory to open either through doubleclicking on it or through sone other means of opening.it. This deosn't happen no matter what I try to do to get it to open to the next level of the tree. It stays stuck on that directory and will only allow me to edit the name  of the chosen directory. (obviously this is not what i want.)

I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this behavvior and if there is a way to correct it or workaround it. This is a severe limitation on my java swing app usage. 

Incidentaly the behavilor does not happen under the eclipse IDE but I need to use Netbeans for a project.

I'm using:
gnome (ubuntu Dapper)
Java 1.5
netbeans 5.5

Thanks for any assistance! 

Don Kauffman