I often need to open a directory in a new window. In Windows, I could use ctrl+double click to open the directory in a new Explorer window. Or, I could right click a directory and click “Open in new window”.
In Nautilus, it seems that the shortcut is shift+return, and shift+double click does nothing (or occasionally opens it in the same window, I can’t determine the exact behaviour). The problem is that, like most GUI desktop users, my right hand most of the time is gripping the mouse. So, in order to press shift+return, I have to release the mouse from my right hand.
Why not make shift+double click do the same thing as shift+return? It would be a lot easier to hold down shift with my left hand, and double click the mouse button with my right hand.
I have also tried to use context menu to open a directory in a new window, but unlike Windows, in Nautilus that menu was under a second-level menu, and there is a transition animation, so it was not instant like Windows Explorer’s context menu, and not a good alternative to shift + return.
Shift and Control modify selection on the first click, so making them modify the double click action is bound to cause some weird behaviors.
Say, folder A is selected. You hold shift and double click folder D. Then what happens is that with the first click folders A, B, C, and D get selected, then om the second click it opens a new window for each of these 4 folders.
We can’t just skip the first part because we can’t predict there is going to be a double click.
My suggested workaround is to use the middle button of the mouse (or 3-finger tap on touchpad) to open folder in new tab. Then, if you need a new window, drag the tab into the headerbar to detatch it as a new window.
I thought that I had to configure the shortcut, but middle click already worked by default.
But I wonder if it would be possible to have something like shift/ctrl + middle click to open the directory in a new window, rather than in a new tab? Most of the time, I want to open directories side by side to compare them or move/copy files. You can’t view two tabs at the same time.