One of my pet peeves in Ubuntu:
I open up a folder with ~50 files in it. I start typing in the file name, and it matches something. I notice that the file I want is right beside it. I press the right arrow... nothing happens. I press it again, thinking it was a mis-press... still nothing happens. Nothing happens until I press Escape, and then select the file -- because the incremental search box has grabbed the focus.
Is there any way to fix this?
Hit tab to restore focus to the file list. Then you should be able to navigate with the arrow keys.