The Cluttered Tree View
In Ubuntu, the default file manager is Nautilus (often just called “Files”). When viewing your files in “List View” (as opposed to Icon View), Nautilus offers a feature where you can click a small triangle next to a folder to expand it downwards, revealing its contents directly within the same window, creating a sprawling tree structure. However, if you are navigating deeply nested directories, clicking on a folder might automatically expand it in the list rather than actually navigating into that folder. This creates a massively cluttered, unreadable vertical list of files that requires endless scrolling.
Disabling Expandable Folders
To keep your file browsing clean and stop Ubuntu from automatically expanding folders in the list view, you must disable the tree-view feature in the Nautilus preferences.
Open the Files (Nautilus) application. In the top-right corner of the window (in the header bar), click on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines). From the dropdown, select Preferences. A new dialogue box will appear. In the main “General” tab, look under the “Views” or “List View” section. You are looking for a toggle switch or checkbox explicitly labelled Navigate folders in a tree or Expandable Folders in List View (the exact wording changes slightly depending on your Ubuntu version). Uncheck this box or toggle it off. Now, when you are in List View and you double-click a folder, Nautilus will cleanly transition into that folder, rather than unfolding it into your current view.