ExpandFileName

ExpandFileName["name"]

textually expands name to have the form of an absolute file name for your operating system.

Details

  • ExpandFileName["name"] interprets name relative to your current directory.
  • ExpandFileName expands directory designations such as . and ...
  • The result from ExpandFileName has the form of an absolute file name, with standard pathname separators appropriate for your operating system.
  • ExpandFileName just operates on names of files; it does not actually search for the file specified.
  • ExpandFileName[File["name"]] is also supported.
  • ExpandFileName[URL["file:///path"]] converts a file-based URL to an absolute file name. »

Examples

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Basic Examples  (2)

Convert the relative directory path to the full name:

Reset the directory to the previous directory:

Expand the file name specified by the File object:

Reset the directory to the previous directory:

Scope  (2)

Convert a file scheme URL to an absolute path:

Take the file name from a local object:

Applications  (1)

Convert the local base URL to an absolute path name:

Properties & Relations  (1)

ExpandFileName merely converts a relative path to a standard, absolute path:

AbsoluteFileName converts the name to an absolute path and verifies that the path exists:

Wolfram Research (2008), ExpandFileName, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ExpandFileName.html (updated 2019).

Text

Wolfram Research (2008), ExpandFileName, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ExpandFileName.html (updated 2019).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2008. "ExpandFileName." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2019. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ExpandFileName.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2008). ExpandFileName. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ExpandFileName.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_expandfilename, author="Wolfram Research", title="{ExpandFileName}", year="2019", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ExpandFileName.html}", note=[Accessed: 29-May-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_expandfilename, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={ExpandFileName}, year={2019}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ExpandFileName.html}, note=[Accessed: 29-May-2025 ]}