Why do i have to shift - right / left key to open and close folders in nautilus, eclipse, etc.?

In windows, you could navigate tree menus with left/right keys, now in ubuntu 11.04 (and perhaps previous versions?) i have to hold the shift key while i do that, its quite annoying, any way to configure this?

Edit:I've attached a picture indicating the problem:

So in windows, with the focus on the circled element, I could tap the "right key" and it would open up this folder. In ubuntu, in eclipse, nautilus, etc, i have to hold down shift and the right key to get the same behaviour.

I think it boils down to this root issue in GTK: "Please add common keybindings for the TreeView". The reply from a developer:

The arrow keys are already being used in GtkTreeView to move the focus rectangle over the horizontal axis.

This issue was opened in 2003, the last substantial comments are also some years old, so I doubt it will be fixed soon...

Currently you can expand a folder using Shift+Left, Space and +.

You can press Space that the folder will open.

I can set it on Ubuntu 14. not trying other versions.

Edit -> Preferences -> File Preferences -> Display.

Check "Navigate folders in a tree" in "List View". Now you can use left, right arrow key to open and close folders.