3 ms·

or you click on "Go" in the menu bar. What key combo did you want that would be less 'magical'?

etrautmann 20d ago
A path bar anywhere in the interface? I also want this to be able to copy a file’s path. Right now I’m not even sure how to do that aside from cmd-i to get info and then clunkily drag select the parent dir to copy. Repeat for the file name. Am I insane or is there a better way? Just use terminal? For a time I used pathfinder which had a feature to copy the full path but I ended up hating the subscription and constant feature churn.
- CharlesW 20d ago
  It's not unusual for Mac users to create custom shortcuts for things like this using built-in and 3rd-party tools like Shortcuts, Automator/AppleScript, Keyboard Maestro, Hammerspoon, etc. For copying the path of a file specifically, in Finder you can hold Option and then pick Edit → Copy as Pathname.
- Wevah 20d ago
  Context menu → hold Option; “Copy” will change to “Copy <file> as Path”. (Sometimes you can just drag and drop the file to where you want to paste, but that depends on the destination app and so isn’t consistent.)
  - x2tyfi 19d ago
    Another option, if you already have terminal open, is to drag the file/folder from Finder into your terminal window. The path will be pasted there.
    - snsisnwjxnwjd 19d ago
      Yep. Many different options available. Seems to me most complaining about finder haven’t actually bothered to give it the benefit of the learning-curve they’ve given to other file managers. Explorer is so far behind Finder it’s ridiculous, yet people somehow think it is better? C’mon.
      - deleted 19d ago
        [deleted]
      - zug_zug 18d ago
        What are you talking about? Like I've said I've been using finder for 15 years and most of these things people are talking have absolutely no discoverability. Like is the mac UI really supposed to be "Get frustrated, google it, and read how to do these things and special keyboard shortcuts/drag-and-drop/etc"? To be clear I think macs are by far the superior product on the hardware front, but nobody should be discovering new UI tricks after 3 years, let alone a decade.
- SoftTalker 19d ago
  Just use the terminal. I've never found that a GUI was any good at managing files and directories. A shell and utility commands are far better.
- MokaAkashiya 19d ago
  Surprisingly nobody suggested yet to just select file in Finder and press Option-Cmd-C to copy file path.
  - eszed 18d ago
    Whoa! Twenty-year+ Mac user, and I never knew that trick. Thank you for that.
- thrwkmmshf00083 19d ago
  Why not just enable the path / breadcrumb bar that shows at the bottom of the window and lets you copy a path or open a terminal via the context menu? I currently don't have a Mac in reach but I'm pretty sure the option for that is in the "view" menu. Not a fan of Apples approach of making many functions invisible but I never understood all the complaints about Finder. I use Arch, MacOS and Windows (if I have to) and apart from having to reconfigure it slightly, I never had any particular issues with Finder. You also have to give Apple credit for their long-form manuals - which exist for most things they offer. It's pretty easy to see in threads like this one that many people apparently do not read them, though.
eviks 17d ago
A single letter G A single modifier Cmd-G Clicking is bad/slow

A path bar anywhere in the interface? I also want this to be able to copy a file’s path. Right now I’m not even sure how to do that aside from cmd-i to get info and then clunkily drag select the parent dir to copy. Repeat for the file name. Am I insane or is there a better way? Just use terminal? For a time I used pathfinder which had a feature to copy the full path but I ended up hating the subscription and constant feature churn.

CharlesW 20d ago
It's not unusual for Mac users to create custom shortcuts for things like this using built-in and 3rd-party tools like Shortcuts, Automator/AppleScript, Keyboard Maestro, Hammerspoon, etc. For copying the path of a file specifically, in Finder you can hold Option and then pick Edit → Copy as Pathname.
Wevah 20d ago
Context menu → hold Option; “Copy” will change to “Copy <file> as Path”. (Sometimes you can just drag and drop the file to where you want to paste, but that depends on the destination app and so isn’t consistent.)
- x2tyfi 19d ago
  Another option, if you already have terminal open, is to drag the file/folder from Finder into your terminal window. The path will be pasted there.
  - snsisnwjxnwjd 19d ago
    Yep. Many different options available. Seems to me most complaining about finder haven’t actually bothered to give it the benefit of the learning-curve they’ve given to other file managers. Explorer is so far behind Finder it’s ridiculous, yet people somehow think it is better? C’mon.
    - deleted 19d ago
      [deleted]
    - zug_zug 18d ago
      What are you talking about? Like I've said I've been using finder for 15 years and most of these things people are talking have absolutely no discoverability. Like is the mac UI really supposed to be "Get frustrated, google it, and read how to do these things and special keyboard shortcuts/drag-and-drop/etc"? To be clear I think macs are by far the superior product on the hardware front, but nobody should be discovering new UI tricks after 3 years, let alone a decade.
SoftTalker 19d ago
Just use the terminal. I've never found that a GUI was any good at managing files and directories. A shell and utility commands are far better.
MokaAkashiya 19d ago
Surprisingly nobody suggested yet to just select file in Finder and press Option-Cmd-C to copy file path.
- eszed 18d ago
  Whoa! Twenty-year+ Mac user, and I never knew that trick. Thank you for that.
thrwkmmshf00083 19d ago
Why not just enable the path / breadcrumb bar that shows at the bottom of the window and lets you copy a path or open a terminal via the context menu? I currently don't have a Mac in reach but I'm pretty sure the option for that is in the "view" menu. Not a fan of Apples approach of making many functions invisible but I never understood all the complaints about Finder. I use Arch, MacOS and Windows (if I have to) and apart from having to reconfigure it slightly, I never had any particular issues with Finder. You also have to give Apple credit for their long-form manuals - which exist for most things they offer. It's pretty easy to see in threads like this one that many people apparently do not read them, though.

eviks 17d ago

A single letter G A single modifier Cmd-G Clicking is bad/slow