How can I copy the path of a file?

Question

This surely sounds weird to PC users ;-), but my actual question is "How can I copy the path to a folder or a file ?" The Info Dialog doesn't allow me to copy the information that stands there ...

Is there an easy way to do that ?

Answer 1

There are two ways I do this (and the info window is neither of them):

1. Open the Terminal application and drag the item into the window, and a POSIX-style path will be displayed that you can copy and paste.
2. Use Applescript...

...select an item in the Finder and run this...

tell application "Finder"
    return info for selection as alias
end tell

...or create a droplet with this code...

on open theFile
   set thePath to POSIX path of theFile
   set the clipboard to thePath as text
end open

Add salt to taste.

Answer 2

As already described by ayaz, the Get Info window (cmd+i) has the full path and will allow you to copy it. If you tripple click in the highlighted area (by the red rectangle) the selection will automatically expand to the whole path. cmd + c will suffice to copy it to the clipboard.

If you need the path to interact with the Terminal, you can always check one of the “zillion” answers in this Stack Overflow Question.

UPDATE: This method seems to be only valid for OS X 10.6.x, previous OS X versions used the non-POSIX path style that looked like path:to:file, whereas the POSIX would be path/to/file. If you are in something older than OS X 10.6, you will have to try one of the other methods described in the other answers (or upgrade to 10.6 ;)

Answer 3

I will move my comment over as an answer.

You should be able to copy the path to a folder/file by highlighting the value next to "Where:" in the info dialog and pressing CMD+c.

An easier alternative that requires less effort is right-clicking on that value, and clicking "Copy" in the drop-down that appears.

Answer 4

Sometimes the solution is so simple.

Just mark the file in the finder and then press Command-C. The path including the file name is copied to the clipboard and you can paste it in any application.

Answer 5

This is how to create a Service to copy to the clipboard the selected paths in Finder:

1. Open Automator. Press ⌘+N and choose Service.
2. Set "Service receives selected files or folders in Finder.app".
3. Drag the element "Run Shell Script" to the window.
   Note: You can select this element if you go to the left of the window and click on Actions, Library, and type part of the name in the search box.
4. Set "Shell: /bin/bash", "Pass input: as arguments" and type the following in the script box: for f in "$@" do echo "$f" done.
5. Drag the element Copy to Clipboard.
6. Save your service in ~/Library/Services/Copy POSIX Paths.workflow (or any other name you like).

Now you will be able to run this service if you right click an element and choose Services > Copy POSIX Paths. It will copy the file(s) selected in Finder to your clipboard. I tested this on Lion.

I got this tip from Kris Johnson's Blog.

Answer 6

Simply drag the file into text editor, and it will give you the full path for that file.

Answer 7

1. Start automator
2. Create a new service
3. Set the service to acquire files and folder in the finder, and add the run applescript element

4. Paste this script

   on run {input, parameters}
   set mylist to {}
   repeat with elem in input
       try
           set the end of mylist to (POSIX path of (elem as alias))
       end try
   end repeat
   set oldtid to AppleScript's text item delimiters
   
   
   set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {return}
   set flatlist to mylist as text
   
   
   set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldtid
   
   
   tell application "Finder" to set the clipboard to flatlist
   
   
   -- code below will also create an email with the path inside. delete it if you don't want that.
   tell application "Microsoft Entourage"
       set theMessage to make new outgoing message with properties {subject:myFileName, content:flatlist}
       open theMessage
       activate
   end tell
   end run
   

5. Save the result as 'copy and email path' or something.
6. Now check your ctrl-click menu and your services menu. Nice!