How to copy the path to a file or folder

Windows Explorer is great, but there are still a bunch of features that I wish they added as default options. As a programmer in the IT field, there are many times when I need to copy the path to a particular file, such as a DLL or config file, etc, but in Explorer, you can only copy up to the parent folder for the file.

For example, if I have a folder on my C drive called Test (C:\Test) and I have a file called Testing.doc inside that folder, Explorer only allows me to copy C:\Test instead of C:\Test\Testing.doc.

Copy Path Shell Extension is a nifty little C++ utility that lets you copy all kinds of path information, such as the full path, the location (parent path), just the filename,  and even the full or location-only UNC path.

Also, be sure to check out my previous post on Piky Basket, a cool freeware app that makes working with and managing files and folders much easier.

Basically, once you install Copy Path, it will show a new option in your right-click context menu called Copy Path:

You can choose exactly what you want to copy, which is really nice. For example, you can copy the Full Path (C:\Test\Testing.doc), the Location (C:\Test), or the File Name (Test.doc).

If you work off network drives, you can copy the UNC Full Path (\\server\test.doc) and the UNC Location (\\server\folder\). Pretty neat! Definitely useful if you write scripts or program a lot.

Also, if you go into the Options menu, you can choose to show the full paths in the context menu itself as shown below:

If the paths are very long and the menu becomes super wide, you can select the Truncate long paths in menu option to keep the width reasonable.

Also, if you select a bunch of files at once, you can right-click on the entire group and then copy all the files paths! Nice. Overall, it’s a useful program for people who work in IT, such as system admins or programmers. Enjoy! [via FreewareGenius]