This is the #1 most annoying thing in my recent conversion to working with a Mac. There is literally not a single way I can find to copy the current folder that I'm at in Finder for use in another finder window(ie, open/save files) nor for use in a terminal. Best bet is to two finger tap, get info, copy and paste the messed up "Macintosh HD"ized path, manually convert the Macintosh HD crap to an actual path, and then probably it works and you just wasted 1 minute of your life.
You can click on the folder icon at the top of a Finder window and drag it into an open/save dialogue, or drag it into a Terminal window to get the absolute path. This works with individual files, too.
If you are in the folder "foo" with no files selected then Cmd-C will copy the address of "/Users/Yourname/foo". You can paste that into the terminal no problem.
If you want to go to a particular path in finder or an open/save dialog, hit cmd-shift-g. Then you can paste your path or use tab completion to get to your directory.
Considering opening the current path in Terminal, there are a few easier ways using Automator[1] or Alfred[2], but from 10.7 on there is a built in feature to do this:
Not sure exactly what you are trying to do, but dragging a folder from finder into the open/save dialog will normally change directory to the one dropped in.
Give xtraFinder ( http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/ ) a shot, it'll let you copy paths of a directory, along with a whole other suite of additions. Makes Finder a whole lot better.
What I then do is that I select a file in the directory I want to cd into, hit CMD + C, switch to terminal and run sd on CMD+V. The script basically cd's into the same dir as the file you selected.
I realize that this workflow might not be for everyone but it's kind of ok for me.
I doubt it solves all your problems, but for the issue with terminals I recommend Go2Shell[1] which just adds an icon you can click to open a terminal in that window.
If you happen to use zsh/oh-my-zsh, enable the OSX extension. You can then use the command cdf to jump to the active finder directory and pfd to display the active finder directory.
Semi-OT: i just recently started using OSX (coming from Xubuntu/XFCE). The Finder is my number #1 problem with the OS. I find it very uncomfortable and cumbersome to use, maybe i just don't grasp the concept... whatever.
Is there any alternative? Also open to a command line file navigator.
In my experience most long-time advanced OS X learn all of the somewhat hidden keyboard and mousing short cuts of which there are many. Most advanced users don't directly improve or replace the Finder with more GUI mousing tools such as Path Finder, XtraFinder and the like.
Instead we use tools that keep our hands on the keyboard and automate workflows. I have been a user of LaunchBar for over 15 years since OS X Beta. Other people use Alfred or Quicksilver for the same reasons. Any of these apps will address most of the issues people have mentioned in these comments. Each of these apps has a slightly different focus and style so it is worth testing each to see which fits you the best.
For the few things that LaunchBar can't do, or for much more complicated workflow automation, I use Keyboard Maestro.
Depends what your problems are, I use TotalFinder for better Tab Support and Split-Screen Tab arrangements, but I don't know if that will help with what you dislike about finder.
So happy if only for Cmd-T to open a terminal at the given folder. I really appreciate having a navigation bar in finder, I used to do all my serious file browsing in the terminal. Now perhaps finder will actually have some use.
You can also just do Shift + CMD + G if you want to jump to a folder. You can also drag the Finder proxy icon to Terminal and it'll write the path to your session.
Yes, you can do this using "Services" from the system (they appear in Finder contextual menus at appropriate times) but not all Services are enabled by default.
Go to: System Preferences >> Keyboard >> Shortcuts tab and select the Services list item. In the list you will find a section named "Files and Folders", which contains "New Terminal at Folder" and "New Terminal Tab at Folder". If you download 3rd party terminal replacements such as mine (MacTerm), you will see Services for those applications as well. :)
I used to have an Applescript app that I made a default icon in the Finder action bar that would open a new terminal tab and then cd to the path of the Finder window, but they introduced this a few versions ago and I think it works fine: http://lifehacker.com/launch-an-os-x-terminal-window-from-a-...
There's also an app to cut-paste files. It's their way of getting users to adopt their design decisions, make it the most practical option by not supporting alternatives. Pretty effective.
