[Macworld]

Post your comments for Copy paths from Finder selections here

[flybynight]

I like the Automator plug-in option... but is there any way to have it in the main menu, rather than buried under More > Automator > PlugIn Name ?

[hutchbay]

The tip about TextEdit from the Services menu only works, like the dragging to the window option, if your TextEdit Preferences are set to Plain Text, not RTF.
Also, in 10.4 I can't drag anything to a Spotlight search box after pressing cmd-Space. As soon as I click any other object, the search box disappears. Are you talking about a more persistent search window, Rob?

[griffman]

Drag first, then while dragging, press Command-Space, and then drop the dragged object into the search box.

Automator: Unfortunately, Apple chose to bury Automator in the sub-menu in 10.5, and I don't know of any way to move it back up to the top level.

-rob.

[griffman]

Another option I didn't cover is using the AppleScript with a launcher app like Butler or LaunchBar. Just enter the script in the launcher's AppleScript area, and you can then launch it with a few keystrokes. This is actually how I've implemented it on my machine (via Butler); I just press Cmd-Opt-P in the Finder and the currently select item's path is placed on the clipboard.

The advantage of this method is that you're not running another full application (the four-line AppleScript); it runs natively in the launcher app, and works instantly. Very handy.

-rob.

[mretondo]

Is there a way to get rid of the "more" sub-menu? I don't care about Automator.

[mrpopo]

This addresses the question I raised to a previous post about paths (Use a spring-loaded Path Bar in 10.5's Finder) http://www.macworld....ingpathbar.html . I'm glad that someone may be listening.

My personal preference of all the options in this article is the Services/Textedit solution. That's very straightforward to me and also very useful. It just goes to show how deep the Mac OS is and how most of us only scratch the surface of it's full potential. Thanks for the helpful info.

[web]

I also use an AppleScript, but it's not 4 lines - more like 40. It's a droplet that resides on the bottom of my screen. I can drag and drop one or more files onto it and get all of the paths on the clipboard at once. It has no problem with many files, and it shows you the paths it is putting on the clipboard so you can see what you are going to paste. It prompts me to see if I want the paths in the POSIX format, or the old colon delimited style. I use it a lot, particularly when writing scripts. I use a lot of droplets to do routine tasks, like replace characters in file names, add date stamps to names, etc. AppleScript saves me a ton of time.
- web

[JondorZ]

I got one new easy method:
Go to System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse
under the tab 'Keyboard Shortcuts', click the plus sign at the bottom left.
Set the application to: 'Finder'
Menu Title: 'New Window Containing Selection' (CASE SENSITIVE)
Set the keyboard shortcut to: 'Command-G' (If you dun like this key, u may change it to your preference)
Then in finder you just need to press the new keyboard shortcut key, in my case i press Command-G. A textedit with the file path will be opened and there u are! Viola!
NO dragging, NO multiple key strokes, NO right clicking and of course NO 3rd party plug-in!!!

[apta]

JondorZ's keyboard shortcut works but TextEdit has to have plain text as the default format for new documents.

[TigerMO]

The keyboard shortcut didn't work. Is there someplace that keyboard shortcuts have to be enabled before they will work? I followed the steps exactly, but after pressing command-G, nothings happens.

[Link33]

I use the AppleScript code to do this a lot. I also have a version that puts "file://" in front of the path for a hyperlink. I can put that into an email message and share file locations that are clickable. Or have iCal launch a script/document.
AppleScript code change:
set the clipboard to "file://localhost" & POSIX path of sel
Since I have the script menu active I just choose it from that menu and run it that way. I tried using the keyboard shortcut but it doesn't seem to include the Script Menu for valid menu items.
Cheers,
Link33

[JondorZ]

Hi TigerMO,

You must make sure that you follow the menu title correctly - "New Window Containing Selection". You may have missed the capital letters.

After you make sure everything is correct, to confirm that it is working: under Finder, go to Finder menu>Services>TextEdit>New Window Containing Selection (beside it, should have the new keyboard shortcut you have just assigned which is "command-G").

Hope this solve your problem.

JondorZ

[TigerMO]

JondorZ-

I first didn't understand that I had to use the specific title given, so I deleted then re-did the shortcut using the correct name (capitals included). However, when I went to the Finder menu as you directed, the shortcut was not visible next to the action.