diff --git a/autoload/nerdtree/ui_glue.vim b/autoload/nerdtree/ui_glue.vim
index 400e52dc..57af126b 100644
--- a/autoload/nerdtree/ui_glue.vim
+++ b/autoload/nerdtree/ui_glue.vim
@@ -284,15 +284,16 @@ endfunction
 " FUNCTION: s:findAndRevealPath(pathStr) {{{1
 function! s:findAndRevealPath(pathStr) abort
     let l:pathStr = !empty(a:pathStr) ? a:pathStr : expand('%:p')
-    if !filereadable(l:pathStr)
-        let l:pathStr = fnamemodify(l:pathStr, ':h')
-    endif
 
     if empty(l:pathStr)
         call nerdtree#echoWarning('no file for the current buffer')
         return
     endif
 
+    if !filereadable(l:pathStr)
+        let l:pathStr = fnamemodify(l:pathStr, ':h')
+    endif
+
     try
         let l:pathStr = g:NERDTreePath.Resolve(l:pathStr)
         let l:pathObj = g:NERDTreePath.New(l:pathStr)