How can I open the containing folders of items in Nautilus search results?

After searching for a file in Nautilus, how can I open its parent folder?

Solution 1:

Jadonchristensen found a way to add "Open parent folder" to Nautilus' context menu:

1) install Nautilus Actions from terminal:

    sudo apt-get install nautilus-actions    

2) run Nautilus Actions from terminal:

    nautilus-actions-config-tool

3) click on 'Add New Action' and fill the form as in the following:

    label = Open Parent Folder
    path = nautilus
    parameters = %d

5) save and exit

6) then simply right-clicking on the search result and selecting "Open parent folder" will do the trick.

It would be interesting to know if it's possible to open the containing folder in a NEW TAB rather than a new window.

Is there an option one can add to the nautilus command?

Successfully tested in

• Ubuntu GnomeShell Remix 12.04 AMD64
• Ubuntu 13.10 x64

Solution 2:

This has already been requested as a feature: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/12628/

A workaround mentioned there is to create a nautilus script:

#!/bin/bash 
# Save this to "~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/Browse Container" 
# set Properties Permissions Executable 
# while in Nautilus : right-click-object/Scripts/Browse Container 

nautilus `dirname $NAUTILUS_SCRIPT_SELECTED_URIS`

Alternatively you can use the following syntax to open Nautilus and highlight the file in the containing folder:

#!/bin/bash

nautilus "$1"

Solution 3:

If you do not wish (like me) to install nautilus-actions, there's a workaround.

1. Right click the file and select Properties or press ctrl + i.
2. Double-click the location and it will be selected. Press ctrl + c to copy the location to the clipboard.
3. Press ctrl + l to open the location bar.
4. ctrl + v to paste the file's location followed by enter.

It's not as convenient as the Nautilus actions method, but it avoids installing a package that might in principle, have security issues.