You Are Here: Finding Yourself in Mac OS X

· by · Tips

Mac OS X gives us many ways to do the same thing because not everyone uses their Mac in exactly the same way. Take figuring out exactly where you found a specific file on your hard drive as an example. You can view the the contents of any Finder window in column view, which gives you a nice visual representation of where you ended up on your hard drive. You can also highlight a file and type Command-I to open a Get Info window that shows the path to your file. Both work great, and are easy to remember.

But have you tried this: Command-Click a Finder windowis title. This trick gives you a pop-up menu that shows the path to whatever file or folder is currently selected. Choosing a folder in the menu instantly jumps you back to that location, and it works regardless of what your preferred window view style is; icon, list, or column.


Command-Clicking the title in a Finder window opens a menu that shows exactly where you are.

Command-Click works in the Dock, too, but just a little differently. Command-Clicking an icon in the Dock opens a new window that shows the original itemis location. The window is always in icon view, so you can just Command-Click its title to see exactly where that item lives on your hard drive.

Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet

Jeff is the Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X" from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also co-hosts the We Have Communicators podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other podcasts, too. Jeff dreams in HD.

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