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This is a really small problem, although it seems to be like a pretty big design issue.

When the folder is full of files, for example, there's no empty space left to right click on, so how do I create a new folder? Or a new document? There's absolutely no space to click.

Here's an example:

enter image description here

If I right click anywhere, it just opens the file right click menu.

hytromo
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hexagonest
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3 Answers3

11

Use the File->New Folder or the Ctrl+Shift+N shortcut.

Under the File menu you can find the New Document option as well.

hytromo
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    Definitely the answer... but a comment: It's a bit silly that you have to navigate up to the menu bar to add a folder, when the previous functionality worked fine - and it practically the same across all OS, right? – David_G Sep 10 '14 at 09:21
  • Opinions may vary. In my opinion it may be a bit confusing for someone used to the right-click method, but definitely not "silly". – hytromo Sep 11 '14 at 15:29
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    and, on gnome shell, File is not accessible anymore... :( – yota Feb 07 '16 at 19:05
  • What "File menu"? – detly Apr 05 '18 at 03:22
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    As many realized, File menu is not there on Gnome, the default desktop manager for Ubuntu, at least of now. This unfortunately invalidates the answer. I think a window-manager-independent way of creating a new directory should be added to Nautilus. – Ahmad Shahwan Jun 09 '19 at 08:21
  • Now in Ubuntu 18.04, the problem become severe: There is no "New folder" option in the file menu. – Robin Hsu Mar 02 '20 at 23:22
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Reference to the answer in https://askubuntu.com/a/550425/384849, here is another work around to trigger the right click menu in the list view.

You can press the Option key on the keyboard or Ctrl+F10 when no file is highlighted in the list view.

enter image description here

When there is a file highlighted, this is an easy way I found to deselect it. You can randomly input a few characters. Nautilus will enter the searching mode. Once there isn't a filename matching the characters you typed in, there will be no fill selected. Then press esc to exit, and you can press the Option key to trigger the menu right now.

Or, you can go one directory up then come down again to deselect the file.

HD189733b
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    I like the option key suggestion. My preferred way of deselecting the file is to ctrl+click the selected file instead of entering search mode. – Albtzrly Jul 07 '20 at 16:15
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I find that if I right click on the open space to the right of the file name, not on the highlighted line (for example on the line where your .steam directory is) that the submenu with New Folder appears.

I am using Nemo for a file manager, and the behaviour of Nemo is slightly different in this area.

Charles Green
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    That doesn't work for me. It just acts if I right clicked that item. – hytromo Jun 15 '14 at 00:21
  • Strange. I am using Nemo, which I find I prefer to Nautilus. And you're correct, when I try that in Nautilus it does not work correctly. – Charles Green Jun 15 '14 at 00:23
  • That's it! Nemo and Nautilus must work differently! – hexagonest Jun 15 '14 at 00:28
  • Only a little bit. I believe Nemo is based on Nautilus, and has some features that were deprecated in the current release. You can find some information on it at the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_(file_manager) – Charles Green Jun 15 '14 at 00:30