diff --git a/kdialog/kdialog.cpp b/kdialog/kdialog.cpp
index b7f20e0647..443ad2f140 100644
--- a/kdialog/kdialog.cpp
+++ b/kdialog/kdialog.cpp
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #include <kcmdlineargs.h>
 #include <kaboutdata.h>
 #include <kfiledialog.h>
+#include <kfileitem.h>
 #include <kicondialog.h>
 #include <kdirselectdialog.h>
 #include <kcolordialog.h>
@@ -595,6 +596,10 @@ static int directCommand(KCmdLineArgs *args)
         }
 	// copied from KFileDialog::getSaveFileName(), so we can add geometry
 	bool specialDir = ( startDir.at(0) == ':' );
+	if ( !specialDir ) {
+	    KFileItem kfi(KFileItem::Unknown, KFileItem::Unknown, KUrl(startDir));
+	    specialDir = kfi.isDir();
+	}
 	KFileDialog dlg( specialDir ? startDir : QString(), filter, 0 );
 	if ( !specialDir )
 	    dlg.setSelection( startDir );