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How to open a file path someone sent you on a Mac

· 6 min read

To open a file path on a Mac, copy the path, switch to Finder, press Shift-Command-G, paste, and press Return. Finder jumps to that folder, or to the file inside its folder. If nothing happens, the path probably describes a place that exists on the sender’s Mac and not on yours, and the checks further down will tell you which part is wrong.

Paste the path into Go to Folder

  1. Select the path in the message and press Command-C.
  2. Click the desktop or any Finder window so that Finder is the app in front.
  3. Choose Go > Go to Folder, or press Shift-Command-G.
  4. Press Command-V to paste the path, then press Return.

If the path ends in a folder, that folder opens. If it ends in a file name, Finder opens the folder that contains the file and selects it, so you can press Space to preview it or Command-O to open it.

As you type or edit in the Go to Folder field, Finder suggests matching folders, and Tab completes a name. That helps when a path is nearly right.

Two characters at the start of a path are worth knowing:

  • A tilde (~) stands for your own home folder. ~/Documents/Report.pdf means the Documents folder of whoever is logged in, which is why instructions written for many people use it.
  • A leading slash (/) means the top level of the startup disk, as in /Applications or /Library.

Go to Folder also reaches folders that Finder normally hides, such as ~/Library. That is the usual reason support instructions hand you a path instead of telling you where to click. File paths on a Mac, explained simply has more on how paths are put together.

Use the path in an Open or Save dialog

You do not always need Finder. Any standard Open or Save dialog accepts a path too.

  1. In the app, choose File > Open, or click the Attach or Choose File button on a web page.
  2. With the dialog showing, press Shift-Command-G, or simply type a slash or a tilde. A path field appears.
  3. Paste the path and press Return.

The dialog jumps to that folder, with the file selected if the path named one. Click Open and you are done. This is the fastest route when the reason you were given a path is “attach this” or “upload this”, because you skip Finder entirely. Getting a file into a web upload field fast covers the other ways in.

Open it from Terminal

If you already have a Terminal window open, the open command does what a double-click would.

open ~/Documents/Report.pdf

That opens the file in its usual app. To show the file in Finder instead of opening it, add -R:

open -R ~/Documents/Report.pdf

Spaces need care. A path such as /Users/you/Documents/Tax Forms/Report.pdf has to be wrapped in quotes, or each space has to be preceded by a backslash. Note that a tilde inside quotes is not expanded to your home folder, so use the full path when you quote. Paths with spaces in the terminal, and how to avoid trouble explains the rules.

When the path leads nowhere

A path is an address, not the file. If the address does not exist on your Mac, nothing will open. Work through these.

  • It contains someone else’s user name. /Users/theirname/Desktop/Plan.pdf exists only on a Mac with an account called theirname. If the two of you share the same project layout, replace /Users/theirname with a tilde and try again. If you were never sent the file, ask for the file.
  • It starts with /Volumes. /Volumes/Projects/Budget points to an external drive or a network share named Projects, and it works only while that drive or share is connected. For a share, choose Go > Connect to Server in Finder (Command-K), enter the address you were given, and then try the path again. Copying files from a shared network folder on a Mac covers the connection step.
  • It is a file URL. Something that begins file:/// and has %20 where spaces should be is the same address in web form. Go to Folder wants a plain path: delete file:// from the front and replace each %20 with a space. Or hand the whole thing, in quotes, to open in Terminal, which understands URLs.
  • It came from a different kind of computer. Backslashes and a drive letter at the start mean the path was copied on a PC. It will not map to anything on a Mac. Ask for the shared folder’s address, or for the file itself.
  • It was damaged on the way. Look for a period added at the end of a sentence, curly quotes around the path, a missing first slash, or a line break in the middle from an email that wrapped the text. Paste it into Go to Folder and read it before pressing Return; the suggestions stop matching at the point where the path goes wrong.

If you are the one sending

A path helps only someone who already has the file in the same place. If the other person needs the document, send the document. How to copy a file’s path on a Mac shows how to get a clean path when a path is what is called for, and Copying a file as a path versus as the file itself explains how the two get mixed up.

This is the choice Ledge makes for you. Drag a file up to the notch at the top of the screen and it waits on a shelf that drops from the notch. Drag it off again and each destination receives the form it can use: a terminal gets the path as text, a chat app gets the file as an upload, and a Finder folder gets the file itself. You never have to decide between copying a path and copying a file, so a path does not end up in a chat where the file was wanted.

Ledge works on the sending side of this problem. It does not read or index your files; it holds what you hand it and passes it on. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and on a Mac without a notch the shelf sits at the top center of the screen.

Questions

What does the tilde at the start of a path mean?

It is shorthand for your home folder, the one named after your account. ~/Downloads is your Downloads folder on any Mac you are logged in to.

Shift-Command-G does nothing. Why?

Finder is probably not the app in front. In many apps that shortcut means something else, such as finding the previous match in a search. Click the desktop first, then press it again.

Can I open a path straight from the text without copying it?

Often, yes. Select the path, Control-click it and look in the Services submenu for Show in Finder or Open. If they are missing, they can be switched on under Services in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts.