Is there a shortcut to open a folder in a Open File dialog?

Solution 1:

Return (with the ↩ symbol) opens the folder for browsing its contents (unless you're in column view). You need to press Enter instead. It's a different key, and its symbol is ⌤.

If you don't have that key on your keyboard, you can press Fn-Return to achieve the same effect.

Solution 2:

Not all applications allow you to open multiple documents simultaneously but you can open an entire folder from a BBedit (Version 10.0.1) Open Dialog by using the Column view, selecting the folder you want to open, and hitting return.

image of BBEdit Open Dialog Box