The old method of restoring via right-click in Nautilus should work. The only time that option is not available in the context menu is when you are in a folder that is not included in the current backup settings. On your fresh install, make sure you have configured the backup exactly like on the old install.
A little technical background: Nautilus doesn't check what backups currently exist on the system. In fact, doing so would take a long time and cannot be done everytime you right-click on a folder. It only checks which folders are scheduled for backup and shows the option whenever you are in such a folder.
(Also, it seems like it doesn't check for exclusion filters – even in excluded folders, the restore option is available if the parent folder is included. Deja-dup won't restore anything though if you actually click it.)
If you still don't succeed on your machine for whatever reason, you can use this method instead:
deja-dup --restore [File1 File2 ...]
will restore individual files if you know their names.
deja-dup --restore-missing [Directory]
will restore the files that have been deleted from the given directory.
Note that both of these commands will bring up the Deja-Dup Restore GUI, which will also allow you to specify the backup source. You don't need to do the whole task on the command line.
Best Answer
Sure. These instructions are for a fresh ubuntu install.
Open Déjà Dup. Search the dash for deja.
Click on the big “Restore” button.
A dialog will appear asking where your backup files are stored (your “Backup location”). Choose “Other…” and navigate to the folder of backups. On this same screen, select whether you encrypted the backup or not. Click “Forward”.
Choose the date you want to restore from. Usually you can just leave this alone, as the default is the most recent backup. Click “Forward”.
Choose where to restore. Since this is a full system backup, leave it as the default (to restore over your current install). Click “Forward”.
Review your selections and click “Restore”.
Wait. Your files won’t appear in your home directory until the entire restore is finished. It may take a while.
Reinstall any programs that you enjoyed in your previous install.
Taken from the deja dup help wiki.
My pronouns are He / Him