Useful Nautilus Shortcuts

Nautilus is a default file manager for GNOME Desktop and is used as the default file manager in several linux distros such as Ubuntu. I love nautilus because its simple, friendly, and clean, supports local as well as remote file systems over different protocols. Moreover, there are several useful shortcuts that make life easier while using nautilus.

Below is the list of the most helpful shortcuts for navigation and file management in the nautilus:

Ctrl + r: Refresh the current view

Ctrl + h: Toggle show/hide mode for hidden files

F9: Show/Hide the side pane

Ctrl + l: Activate location/url bar (You can then provide path to local or remote filesystems or quickly copy the absolute paths)

Alt + Up Arrow: Move up one directory level

Alt + Down Arrow: Move down one directory level (the directory to be entered should be selected for this to work)

Alt + Left Arrow: Go back to the previous folder in view

Alt + Right Arrow: Go forward

Ctrl + Shift + n: Create a new empty directory

Ctrl + (+ / -): Zoom in (+) or zoom out (-)

Ctrl + 0: Zoom to normal state

Alt + Enter: View selected file/folder properties

F2: Rename selected file/folder

Ctrl + Shift + Drag file/folder: Create symbolic link to file/folder

Ctrl + f: Search for files/folders

Ctrl + s: Select files based upon templates (eg. select all pdf files using *.pdf)

Ctrl + 1: Toggle view as icons

Ctrl + 2: Toggle view as lists

Ctrl + 3: Toggle compact view

Ctrl + w: Close current nautilus window

Ctrl + Shift + w: Current all open nautilus windows

Ctrl + T: Open new tab

Alt + HOME: Navigate to HOME folder

F6: Toggle between side pane and central pane

Know more shortcuts? Share as the comments :)