I work with file paths a lot, since I email co-workers locations to stuff on our file servers. And even though I try to avoid it, sometimes it’s absolutely necessary to hard-code a file path into a program or script. In either of these cases, the quicker I can get the path to a file, the better. In the past, I had always used a registry hack or script to add the ability to copy a path from a context menu. Hacking the registry is not a big deal, but wouldn’t it be nice if any Windows computer could have this functionality out of the box?

Little did I know that Windows 7 and Windows Vista have the built-in capability to copy a file path by simply holding shift and right-clicking on the file for which you want the path! In the resulting context menu, the magical phrase Copy Path becomes visible! Clicking it puts the absolute path to the file on the clipboard. It works on both local and remote files.