finding file paths

[Bob Marsden]

I have a window on screen - a picture or text. I had put it somewhere appropriate, but can't remember where. How do I find its file path - its location on the computer? It must be simple and obvious but I can't remember/discover how. I could type the file name on the top of the window into Spotlight, but there must be an easier way.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

I'm not sure if I understood your question correctly but to see the path you will need to know where it is .... then you can view the file path a couple of different ways ....

Can you actually locate the file, Bob?

 

[Bob Marsden]

I downloaded a .pdf file with a meaningless filename, put it away somewhere according to its contents, & dropped it into the dock for later reading. When I got it out of the dock, I wanted to change its filename, but couldn't remember where I'd put it. I thought there'd have been some simple icon click in its window that would give me its filepath, but apparently not.

 

[Egidio]

Here are a couple of suggestions:

(1) Go to the Apple Menu (upper left-hand corner) and look at "Recent Items." There should be a list of applications, documents and servers recently used. Depending on how many things you did after you opened the mysterious document, you might see it listed there.

(2) If you know it was a PDF, then open your PDF application and look at its menu. Acrobat, for example, has a menu under File > Open Recent File > History.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

I downloaded a .pdf file with a meaningless filename, put it away somewhere according to its contents, & dropped it into the dock for later reading. When I got it out of the dock, I wanted to change its filename, but couldn't remember where I'd put it. I thought there'd have been some simple icon click in its window that would give me its filepath, but apparently not.

Ah, now I understand ... if you have the file open but don't know where it lives on your HD then there is a way to find it's path ....

• To see the full path, press Command and point the cursor to the folders Title and click and hold to reveal a drop down window revealing the path to the enclosing folder. This also applies to PDF files you have open in Preview .. just follow the above method, it'll work.

• Another way to see a files path is to open a Finder window and Control/Right-Click in the Toolbar and select Customise Toolbar. A window will open and you can drag options to the Toolbar. One of these is a Path icon which if you select a file in a Finder window and click on the Path icon, a dropdown menu showing the files path will appear. This really only works if you already have located the containing folder though. If you look at the above images you can see I've added the Path icon and a Delete icon to the Toolbar.

A good way of managing PDF files is to drop them onto the left column of iTunes in the Playlist section and they will be grouped there, just give the newly created PDF (Play)list a name and your done. It's a handy way to keep track of them and I believe the Finder Window in Leopard is based on this principle but has taken it to a higher level.

 

[Kyomii]

To add to the above, the quickest way is to right click (or ctrl click) on the file's thumbnail and click "get info"

Everything is listed there.

 

[Bob Marsden]

I think I've cracked it.
Select the 'free-floating' file window. Go to "File/Save As" in the desktop menubar. In the window that comes up below the file's menubar, below the Save As: [filename] bar there's a folder bar. Click on the up/down arrows & there's the filepath information.