Update: I have packaged this solution up in a SharePoint solution. You can get the packaged solution and the source code here: [SharePoint 2013] Restore the Breadcrumb (Navigate Up) Navigation Part 2.
SharePoint 2010 had a breadcrumb feature on the ribbon that would let a user navigate up the breadcrumb. In SharePoint 2013, this feature is hidden. In SharePoint 2013 the breadcrumb feature can be made visible again in at least two different ways: 1) via the Master Page -or- 2) via code.
Breadcrumb in SharePoint 2010:
Breadcrumb made visible in SharePoint 2013:
Using the Master Page
To make the breadcrumb visable by editing the Master Page, open the Master Page in SharePoint Designer. Edit the following block of code to remove display:none from the containing DIV and visible=false from the breadcrumb control.
Old Code:
[xml]<div class="ms-breadcrumb-dropdownBox" style="display:none;">
<SharePoint:AjaxDelta id="DeltaBreadcrumbDropdown" runat="server">
<SharePoint:PopoutMenu
Visible="false"
runat="server"[/xml]
New Code:
[xml]<div class="ms-breadcrumb-dropdownBox">
<SharePoint:AjaxDelta id="DeltaBreadcrumbDropdown" runat="server">
<SharePoint:PopoutMenu
runat="server"[/xml]
Using Code
To make the breadcrumb visible on every page from code, I recommend using an AdditionalPageHead delegate control (see https://www.johnchapman.net/sharepoint-2010-programmatically-add-javascript-meta-tags-and-css-styles-to-the-header-of-every-page/). In the AdditionalPageHead user control, the following code will make the control visible as well as fix the icon not showing under certain themes:
[csharp]protected override void CreateChildControls()
{
var masterPage = this.Page.Master;
var delta = masterPage.FindControl("DeltaBreadcrumbDropdown") as AjaxDelta;
if (delta != null)
{
var breadcrumb = delta.FindControl("GlobalBreadCrumbNavPopout") as PopoutMenu;
if (breadcrumb != null)
{
breadcrumb.Visible = true;
breadcrumb.ThemeKey = "spcommon";
breadcrumb.IconUrl = "/_layouts/15/images/spcommon.png";
this.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("<style type="text/css">.ms-breadcrumb-dropdownBox { display: inline-block !important; }</script>"));
}
}
base.CreateChildControls();
}[/csharp]