Feature Request: Freeform Path Selection (Right-Click Drag Brush Selection) - Working Prototype Included

Hello Nemo Team,

A long-standing workflow limitation in Nemo is the inability to select multiple files by simply drawing a path over them (brush selection) without relying solely on the rigid box selection.

To solve this, I have developed a working prototype that adds Freeform Path Selection via Right-Click Drag.

How the Prototype Works:

• Smart Timeout: Right-clicking initiates a small timeout. If the user drags >10px, path selection activates. If released immediately, the standard context menu pops up.
• Visual Feedback: Uses Cairo to draw a path tracking the mouse, dynamically adapting to theme_selected_bg_color.
• Synthetic Events & Spatial Memory: To bypass external selection limits and the Ctrl+Click toggle issue, the code injects synthetic GDK_BUTTON_PRESS events and uses a spatial hashing array (ignoring clicks within a ~45px radius of previous points) to ensure solid selection without accidental deselections.

I have created a repository with the modified nemo-icon-view.c and a .patch file that applies cleanly to the current build.

You can check out the code, the patch, and the full explanation here:
👉 https://github.com/yazeedali/Linux-mint-nemo-path-selection

I would love for the core team to review this concept, polish it, and hopefully consider merging it into a future release. I believe this would be a massive UX improvement for Linux Mint users.

Thank you for your hard work on Nemo!

Best regards,
Yazeed Ali Al-Ghamdi

Start by reading nemo-icon-view.c and the linked prototype and patch, then trace Nemo’s existing right-click context-menu and selection handling. Done means a reviewed implementation that supports right-click drag path selection while preserving the standard context menu for an immediate release and providing the described visual feedback.