Filed under: Terminal Tips
Terminal Tips: Enable "path view" in Finder
When you open a Finder window and start browsing to a folder, do you lose track of the path to that folder? If you do, the Terminal command below will enable path view in the Finder -- this means that you will see the directory path to the current folder you are browsing in the title bar, instead of only seeing the name of the current directory.
To make directory paths visible atop Finder windows, open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/) and type the following command:
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES
Once you run the above command, you will also need to restart the Finder, so you can either type "killall Finder" and hit return, or use the Force Quit option under the Apple menu to relaunch it. The Finder will restart, and you will start seeing the paths to directories in the title bar.
Update: As some have pointed out in the comments below, this Terminal command will only work with Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Noob said 11:15AM on 12-05-2008
Why wouldn't you just choose "view, show path bar" from the finder menu?
Reply
mingistech said 5:02PM on 12-05-2008
Because that wastes window room and some people think it makes sense to have this information on the top of the window.
I've been using this trick for a few months.
Murphy Mac said 5:59PM on 12-05-2008
"why not just...." has to be the most common response to any tip posted on the web. Like we don't all know there's more than one way to do just about anything.
The more appropriate response is "you can also....(your way)". That way you aren't implying, often in error, that your way is better.
noob said 7:17PM on 12-05-2008
Ummmm, I do think the two click solution is better.
two clicks, there's the path. two more clicks, no path.
There are so many ways to mistype the terminal command, then as someone commented below, how do you undo this if you decide you don't like it?
The fact that the post did not mention the path bar solution built into the GUI led me to believe that the simple solution may have been overlooked.
As others have posted, they prefer the path at the top rather than the bottom of the window.
If there's more than one way to do something, "why not" include "the easy way for the rest of us" into the post? That said, I think this little terminal trick is pretty slick.
James Madley said 3:31AM on 12-06-2008
Even a brain-dead thing could work this out.
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool NO
Murphy Mac said 11:06AM on 12-06-2008
Noob -
I realize you think your way is better. That was clear by you saying "why not just..." But some people DON'T think your way is better.
What gets me is that every tip is followed by a comment like yours. I'm sure it's unintentional in many cases, but it's pretty arrogant to assume that the way that's more useful for you is more useful to everyone.
The phrase "why not just..." devalues the thing you are commenting on. Maybe people don't have enough of a grasp of the language to realize that. Or else they're just kind of rude.
I don't expect the person posting the original tip to post every single way to do something, that could be somewhat cluttered. Comments are good for that. But why do people feel the need to project their way as the best way for everyone? It's a big world, and different users have needs different than your own.
Why don't you just write your future comments the way I suggested above?
Noob said 4:44PM on 12-06-2008
@Murphy Mac, I get your point.
But are you the post police, or because I used the log in name Noob, you think you need to school me? As much as you have shown your disdain for the "why not just" vernacular, your off topic.
BTW, it's not my way, it's Apples way. I didn't write the "View>Show Path Bar" GUI code, they did.
Please stop inferring that it's my way, as far as I can tell it's one of three ways, none of which are mine. Do you know of any more?
Thank you very much for your opinion and your way.
@Pendragon (reply 24) thanks for the Tinkertool tip!
@Handymac (reply 41) thanks for the Onyx tip!
bill cant fart said 11:16AM on 12-05-2008
Why not View>Show Path Bar?
It makes it look a lot nicer than having the path in the title bar...
Reply
spice weasel said 11:19AM on 12-05-2008
is there any way to copy the path in os x, e.g. for pasting it into an email?
back in the sore days of using windows, i used to just copy the path of shared documents on my company's server to mail it to others, instead of attaching them to the mail.
Reply
Noob said 11:25AM on 12-05-2008
If you drag a file into the terminal window it will show the path. copy the path from the terminal window into mail... there's probably an even easier way than that.
Darren said 11:46AM on 12-05-2008
There are a number of Finder plug-ins that do this. Unfortunately, some are old and PPC only.
FileXaminer comes with a Finder plug-in that works just fine on Intel and PPC. http://www.gideonsoftworks.com/filexaminer.html
Run FileXaminer, then open the Preferences, select the Special tab and you'll see a button to install the Contextual Menu Items. Alternatively, open the FileXaminer.app bundle, navigate to Contents/Resources and copy FileXaminer CM.plugin to ~/Library/Contextual Menu Items, and restart Finder.
After that, you should see a "Copy Path" item when you right-click in Finder.
Riddle said 6:13PM on 12-05-2008
You can use this AppleScript
tell application "Finder"
set the clipboard to POSIX path of ((folder of the front window) as text)
end tell
And bind it to a keyboard shortcut via Spark.app (a very small, nifty app running in background). I have Ctrl+Opt+Cmd+C, works wonders.
Michael Rose said 9:12PM on 12-05-2008
Winshortcutter (CM) will do this too.
daenney said 11:25AM on 12-05-2008
http://secrets.blacktree.com/ can tell you the same and much more, and adds a nice GUI on top of it all.
Reply
THJ said 11:50AM on 12-05-2008
Holy Cow, that is the mother of all OSX tweaking apps - It even allows you to tweak 3rd party apps and lock down all sorts of stuff (dock, idisk, cmd-k, etc).
Thanks for the tip!
Luke M said 11:25AM on 12-05-2008
The path bar is nice, but it takes up additional space in the window. I prefer it in the title.
Thanks for the tip!
Reply
Ryan said 11:31AM on 12-05-2008
Command clik on the icon will show the path, if you keep the Command key down and click on a parent directory it will open that folder in a new window...
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Maxwell said 9:08PM on 12-05-2008
Yes, and command-click still works after this very welcome tip. The best of both worlds!
Andrew said 11:48AM on 12-05-2008
Does anyone know if there's a similar setting for a generic Cocoa app?
Reply
Darren said 11:48AM on 12-05-2008
There is not.
However, you can always Command+click (or right-click) the title bar to reveal the path of any document window. Works with URLs in Safari, too.