Middle-click empty space to create folders and open terminals

[Fahad Iftikhar (Fahad090NP)]

Fixes #329948

Summary

Add middle-click shortcuts for the two surfaces where double-click already creates a new file:

• Explorer view (empty space) — middle-click creates a new folder, matching the existing double-click → new file. The Linux middle-click paste is suppressed so the new folder's name input starts empty.
• Editor area (empty canvas or empty tabs row) — middle-click opens a new terminal in the editor area, matching the existing double-click → new file. Middle-click on an empty editor group now opens a terminal instead of closing the group.

Commits

• Create a folder when middle-clicking empty Explorer space
  • src/vs/base/browser/ui/tree/asyncDataTree.ts — expose onMouseMiddleClick.
  • src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/views/explorerView.ts — middle-click empty space → new folder.
  • src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/views/explorerViewer.ts — swallow the Linux middle-click paste into the new-folder input.
• Open a new terminal when middle-clicking empty editor space
  • src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/editorGroupView.ts — empty-container middle-click → new terminal.
  • src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/multiEditorTabsControl.ts — empty tabs-row middle-click → new terminal.

Validation

• Hygiene passed; no compile errors; npm run transpile-client clean.
• Verified conflict-free merge against latest origin/main.

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Restored PR: This replaces #329446, which was closed automatically when my fork was deleted from GitHub. GitHub cannot reopen a PR whose head repository was deleted, so the branch was rebuilt from the original commits (same commit messages and authorship) on top of the current main — which also resolves the merge conflicts #329446 had. Please review this PR in place of #329446.

[vs-code-engineering]

📬 CODENOTIFY

The following users are being notified based on files changed in this PR:

Benjamin Christopher Simmonds (@benibenj)

Matched files:

• src/vs/base/browser/ui/tree/asyncDataTree.ts
• src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/editorGroupView.ts
• src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/multiEditorTabsControl.ts
• src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/swallowMiddleClickPaste.ts

[Fahad Iftikhar (Fahad090NP)]

Context: this PR replaces #329446, which was closed automatically when my fork was deleted from GitHub. GitHub cannot reopen a PR whose head repository was deleted, so the branch was rebuilt from the original commits (same commit messages and authorship) on top of the current main, which also resolves the merge conflicts the original had.

Maintainers: please judge this PR in place of the closed #329446. Thank you!

[Copilot]

🟡 Changes recommended

Listener retention, terminal targeting, and paste suppression issues remain unresolved.

Once you've addressed the issues Copilot identified, you can request another Copilot review.

Pull request overview

Adds middle-click shortcuts for creating Explorer folders and opening terminal editors.

Changes:

• Exposes tree middle-click events.
• Handles middle-clicks on empty Explorer and editor surfaces.
• Suppresses Linux middle-click paste behavior.

File summaries

File	Description
src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/views/explorerViewer.ts	Guards new-name inputs against middle-click paste.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/views/explorerView.ts	Creates folders from empty Explorer space.
src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/swallowMiddleClickPaste.ts	Adds middle-click paste suppression.
src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/multiEditorTabsControl.ts	Opens terminals from empty tab rows.
src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/editorGroupView.ts	Handles empty editor-group middle-clicks.
src/vs/base/browser/ui/tree/asyncDataTree.ts	Exposes middle-click events.

Review details

Suppressed comments (2)

src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/editorGroupView.ts:430

• Plain middle-click still reaches this branch and closes the empty group, while the PR and linked issue require plain middle-click to open a terminal instead. Requiring Ctrl/Meta means the advertised empty-canvas shortcut is not implemented; remove the modifier split and always take the terminal path.

				} else {
					this.groupsView.removeGroup(this);

src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/multiEditorTabsControl.ts:428

• This command defaults to ACTIVE_GROUP (terminalActions.ts:322), but middle-button presses on the title are ignored by the group focus handler (editorGroupView.ts:509). Middle-clicking an inactive group's empty tabs row can therefore open the terminal in a different group (or window). Pass the clicked group as the command location.

				this.commandService.executeCommand('workbench.action.createTerminalEditor');

• Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
• Comments generated: 5
• Review effort level: Balanced

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