Show hidden files and folders

Is there a way to show all the hidden files and folders in Finder? Thanks in advance.

Hi, Jon.
The freeware application TinkerTool will permit you to enable or disable the display of hidden or invisible files.
Be careful when working with hidden and invisible files: they are hidden and invisible for a reason!
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Similar Messages

How do I get Firefox to show hidden files and folders. It should be available under help but help only gets as far as Open Containing folder and doesn't go on to show hidden files and folders

I am trying to find the status of Adobe Flash Player on my computer. I am advised that it exists in Firefox's hidden files and folders but I cannot find such a folder

You have an older version of Flash installed - Shockwave Flash 10.0 r45
You can see that for yourself in Tools > Addons > Plugins
"Show hidden files and folders" is a function of the Operating System, not an application such as Firefox. Windows Control Panel > Folder Options > View - Advanced Settings

Re: Qosmio G - Hidden files and folders not showing

Hi folks, I have some hidden files and folders, which I was able to access before, and I used to click on the 'organise tab', view, Advanced Settings, show hidden files and folders, in order to hide or show the files.
Unfortunately there seems to be a problem, I just can't access my hidden files and folders any more, even when I go through this method.
someone help me out please, ASAP....
THANKS

Hi aaz911,
First of all it would be nice from you if you post more informations about your notebook model and operating system. This should be done always to get a detailed answer.
Anyway, I never heard about such a problem but make sure that every files will be displayed:
Start Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View and enable the following options:
-Hidden files and folders: Show hidden files and folders
-Hide protected operating system files (this should be disabled > without mark).
Furthermore can you find these missing files using Windows search?
If not I assume the files are deleted from somebody or due a virus. :(

How do I stop Windows 7 from searching hidden files and folders

In XP it was simple with the intuitive Advanced Search Options.
Even if you enable "Don't show Hidden Files and Folders" in Windows 7, they still show up in the search menu. A similar post included a suggestion by a support dude to post a question here. I've searched for every possible solution and yet something so simple appears to be non existent. Has Microsoft just lost its mind with omitting this feature? Is this something that will never be solved? Indexed or not, hidden files and folders still appear in Search.
Thanks

what have you setup in Explorer->Organize->Folder & Search Options?
Don't show hidden and Hide: Empty, Protected, etc. all ticked
if you have at some stage indexed all those system folders, and subsquently removed those from the index scope, then you may need to rebuild the index so those results are not presented by searches?
i've assumed that you are getting things like \windows included, and this seems to be typical. perhaps because some common tools like notepad, wordpad etc reside in those folders.
have you checked out the Indexing Options?
from memory, "don't show hidden & system" really only obscures the stuff when you're browsing in explorer. the indexing engine doesn't respect that kind of setting. you'll need to get your indexing scope worked out to affect the search results presented.
I'm not concerned much with indexing, it's just amazing that there is no option to stop "Search" from searching hidden files and folders when "Don't show hidden" is checked - the way it was with XP, etc. As I understand it whether folder is indexed or not, will not stop "SEARCH" from searching them. It was quite simple in XP but in Windows 7 it seems it is impossible.

How to recover hidden files and folders from memor...

When you connect your memory card to a PC or connect your phone as a mass storage device to a PC which is infected by a virus, the virus may hide all your files and folders.
The virus also changes their attributes to "hidden" and "read only" and may move all memory card content to another hidden folder, though the size of the disk looks unchanged, files are still invisible.
Steps to recover hidden files and folders:
First, change the settings in "folder options" so that we can see all hidden files and folders,
Open any folder > select organise > folder and search options, select view tab and under hidden files and folders setting, select "show hidden files, folders and drives", and uncheck the option "Hide protected operating system files" and click ok, click yes if a prompt appears for confirmation, now you should be able to see all hidden files and folders.
Second, connect your memory card to PC using a card reader or you can connect your phone as a mass storage device and note down its drive letter. (L) is the drive in my case as shown
1. If you have autorun.info file, you can manually delete it or use tools like autorun eater(or any other you like).
If all the folders are moved inside a hidden folder, select all the items inside that folder, cut them and paste them to root directory of your memory card.
If you select properties of any folder on your memory card, the hidden attribute might be locked as shown:
To solve these issues, type cmd in the start menu, right click on it and click run as administrator.
2. In the command prompt window, type the following:
L: [Press Enter]
Here, I assume L as your drive letter.
3. Type the following code to reset the attributes of all the files and folders to their default:
Attrib *.* -r -h -s /s /d [Press Enter]
After few seconds, all the files and folders will be reset to their normal attributes settings.
Hope you enjoyed reading the post and was helpful.
-------------------If this post helped you, click on accept as solution.------------------
-----------------------------Appreciate by clicking on white star.----------------------------

Check the formatting of the external hard drive. To do that, right click on the drive icon and select Get Info. (Or click once on the drive and type command +i ) The pane includes information about the drive format.
The drive should be formatted as Mac OS Extended. If it is not, run Disk Utility (App;ications / Utilities) and format the drive.

Folder Options - View Hidden Files and Folders

Hello,
On this same laptop, there seems to be an issue with *Folder Options - View Hidden Files and Folders.*
Each time i "check" that option to View - then i go back to verify/confirm the changes done - but the checkbox is "unchecked" again. Despite clicking on Apply and Ok to save the changes! The changes are never saved..
I have used other laptops for this same option and it all worked fine.
Please advise whether i need to apply or amend other settings for this to work?
Regards.

Hi
> Therefore, i doubt the antivirus program is the causal factor here..
I wouldnt say so.
I mean normally Bitdefender shouldnt cause such a problem thats right but theoretically its possible. Such security software programs are really good and necessary on every computer with internet connection but due the high security it could maybe blocks some changes from Windows.
In my opinion its worth a try to test it without Bitdefender. Alternative you can use AntiVir (freeware) and the Windows firewall. In my opinion a really good freeware solution.

Browsing for file in icon mode does not show all files and folders.

When in Illustrator and I select open, the preview pane does not arrange the files to fit the window size. This does not happen in list mode but in icon mode. I can't see all the files and folders because they are outside of the window and I can't scroll to the right to see them.

Yosemite, right?
Don't use anything other than list view. It's all buggy.

HIDDEN files and folders

What is the purpose of hiding files or folders in your applications or downloads folders??? This may seem to be a really dumb question but I would really appreciate some sort of understanding for hidings applications or downloads. Thanks
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi there,
This is useful to hide icons you don't want to see (e.g. icons that were pushed to your phone by your carrier but that you can't delete). It can also be useful to hide certain applications that you don't want others to have easy access to. For example, I have hidden the BlackBerry Protect icon to make it that much harder for someone to find and play with (or accidentally delete). If I actually need to go into the app, I can simply unhide it while I need it, then re-hide it after.
The big reason for doing this is that it simply makes it harder for someone to delete an app on your phone or to access an app on your phone that you don't want them to have access to. And of course, it certainly helps that you can hide icons that are pushed from your carrier.
I hope this is the info you're looking for, but if you meant something else, let us know!
If you want to thank someone for their comment, do so by clicking the Thumbs Up icon.
If your issue is resolved, don't forget to click the Solution button on the resolution!

Deselecting hidden files and folders in 'Backup'

Hi,
I still use backup against my .mac account, and back up my home directory with a few folders deselected. How can I not back up hidden folders such as .Trash? When I searched for 'trash' in Spotlight (under the backup selection window) in Tiger, the .Trash folder appeared for me to deselect; however, it no longer appears in Leopard?
Many thanks,
Matt

Hi there,
This is useful to hide icons you don't want to see (e.g. icons that were pushed to your phone by your carrier but that you can't delete). It can also be useful to hide certain applications that you don't want others to have easy access to. For example, I have hidden the BlackBerry Protect icon to make it that much harder for someone to find and play with (or accidentally delete). If I actually need to go into the app, I can simply unhide it while I need it, then re-hide it after.
The big reason for doing this is that it simply makes it harder for someone to delete an app on your phone or to access an app on your phone that you don't want them to have access to. And of course, it certainly helps that you can hide icons that are pushed from your carrier.
I hope this is the info you're looking for, but if you meant something else, let us know!
If you want to thank someone for their comment, do so by clicking the Thumbs Up icon.
If your issue is resolved, don't forget to click the Solution button on the resolution!

Cannot see file and folders copied from other windows 8

Hi everyone,
The problem is the next:
I have new PC for that i was asked to setup and install software, i perform on it clean windows 8 install, it have single HDD 1TB that was partitioned by regular windows setup option to system drive C: 100GB and all left space was partitioned as drive D:
After setup finish i only boot to system to check that everything is OK and without to make ANY change to windows shut it down.
I physically disconnect HDD from new PC and connect it via standard USB 3 docking device to my own PC that also run windows 8 i can see the new connected HDD with all partitions without any problem! Than i create on second partition on new drive folder and
copy there some files, after copy finished i disconnect the drive in safe way by performing "eject" option in windows.
i connect new drive back to new pc, boot to windows and access the second partition and it ... empty, no folder or files on drive, it also show like no space was used !!!
MOST IMPORTANT ! - Why it don't looks like security or permission or even hardware problem - NO any major security changes was performed on my own (old) PC, but most important fact when i connect other hdd to same dock station and create folder and copy some
files and then connect it to NEW PC - problem does not exist !!! i can see and access without any problem the folder and files on both PC's !
I also tried:
to reinstall windows on new pc
to create or delete partition after setup in both PC's
to check folder and drive permissions and adding "everyone" with "full control"
to turn on "show hidden files and folders" and "system files" too
to copy or create new different type files
Interesting - if i create a folder in NEW PC i can see this folder on OLD PC and copy files to it, but whet i connect drive back to NEW PC it sometimes show the folder have those files and even use the appropriate space and programs even try to open those files
without any security warnings but it cannot be open properly because files looks corrupted !
Thanks for any help !

Hi,
According to your description, I don't think this is system problem. More like HDD or its interface problem.
Have you tried to reconnect your new HDD to your own computer again after you copy some file to it but couldn't find anything on new computer. If there is problem in new PC, how about your own PC?
Please have a try, If there was any progress, feel free let us know.
Roger Lu
TechNet Community Support

How can I see the hidden file and erase it?

I had to make a file starting "." and had to put it on my FTP client. I made it by Text Edit and Microsoft word and save it. Since it is hidden file, I can't see on my Mac but when I use the FTP client and click post, the file listing was showed up and I can check as "Show Hidden file". Then I could post the files on the FTP client. However, since I don't need it on my computer, I'd like to erase it but can't find the files. How can I find the hidden files? Thank you.

if you know the folder then navigate to that folder. Open the Terminal application in your Utiities folder and do the following::
Enable Finder to Show Invisible Files and Folders
Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following command line then press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
To turn off the display of invisible files and folders enter or paste the following command line and press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
Alternatively you can use one of the numerous third-party utilities such as TinkerTool or ShowHideInvisibleFiles - VersionTracker or MacUpdate.

Show hidden files in Finder

I've been ripping my music CDs into mp3 files using iTunes.
I recently bought an HDTV. It shows the hidden files on the flash drive as well as the visible files. When I try to play one of the hidden mp3 files, the TV tells me that the file isn't supported. Yet if I scroll to the right, the TV shows the visible mp3 files. I had to use Windows XP to show the hidden mp3 files on the flash drive so that I could delete them. After I did that, the TV displayed the visible mp3 files & played them. Today, I tried to search for hidden mp3 files on the flash drive using Finder. When I use the Terminal to show the hidden files, hidden folders are shown, but none of the hidden mp3 files are shown. Yet the hidden mp3 files are shown in Windows XP. The hidden mp3 file starts with ".01_" followed by the file name & ending with the mp3 extension. Each track starts with a different number. In other words, .01_, .02_, .03_, etc. I don't understand why I can see the hidden mp3 files in Windows XP, but not in Finder. The command "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES" apparently doesn't show ALL of the files. Is it possible to change the Finder so that ALL hidden files are displayed just as I can do in Windows XP? I shouldn't have to go to my PC so that I can see the hidden files & delete them & then go back to my Mac. (Windows XP is the only PC OS that I have. I don't have Vista or 7 or 8.) Or maybe there's a Terminal command that will just rip visible mp3 files in iTunes & not both visible & hidden files. Or maybe there's software that I can install that will do that. If there's no solution, then I will have to use Windows XP to show all of the hidden mp3 files so that I can delete them all at once. I sure would rather use my Mac for everything instead of going back & forth from Mac to PC.

Perhaps I should have noted that DesktopUtility is free. I wouldn't spend money for that functionality, either.
Me either. Didn't notice that one was free. Everything seemed to have a cost on the various apps.
I suppose that it doesn't make any difference whether I enter TRUE or YES, does it? And likewise, FALSE or NO?
Correct. True, Yes, and 1 all do the same thing.
For the opposite, False, No and 0 are the same.
I've also been told to hold down the "option" key & right-click on the Finder icon & click "relaunch". I suppose that it doesn't make any difference whether I relaunch or kill the finder, does it? If I kill the Finder, I reopen it to view the hidden files, right?
Also correct. Doesn't matter which way you do it. The Finder automatically relaunches itself whether you kill it in Terminal, or relaunch it from the Dock (which is really the same as kill then relaunch).
I did see ".DS_Store" on the Desktop, but I didn't see any of the hidden mp3 files on the flash drive.
Now that is weird. You should see all hidden files and folders on all drives. Unless the Flash drive is formatted for Windows (exFAT, FAT16 or FAT32) and OS X doesn't treat it the same way.
TinkerTool and Secrets are two more free utilities that offer easy ways to toggle hidden file viewing.
Yup, there's lots of free utilities to do the same thing. OnyX will also toggle hidden items on and off.

Showing hidden files white screen upon restart

I put in the command to show hidden files and restarted my iMac. It only shows a white screen. Completely blank. How do I fix it? It runs on Lion and has a Time Machine backup.

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 7
Repeat step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 8
This step applies only to a pre-2013 Mac Pro tower, not to any other model. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.

Hidden and hiding files and folders

how do I hide or unhide hidden files or folders??
I have a directory that I want to hide so that other people can't see it or get access to it. (or at least limit the people who can see it and get access to it.) How do I set it up to protect that directory and any file that goes into it?
cuz...I have two separate accounts (lets say....x and y) and I want only x and y and root to be able to have access to (e.g.) /home/directory
What command do I use to make it a "hidden file/folder"? (well..the Solaris equilvalent to a Windows hidden file or folder)

The option of changing the permisions is a better solution for what you want to do.
For completeness sake, the way to hide/unhide directories,files etc. in UNIX is by starting the name with a ".".
This does however not restrict access to the resource in any way , it just hides it from directory listings etc. Most tools/file managers etc. have an option to "show hidden files/directories" which negates its use as a security mechanism.
You will find that a lot of applications store their configuration information in directories starting with "." as is the case with netscape which has a ".netscape" directory off your home directory. It does serve the purpose of keeping it out of the way as it is not generally visible while still easily accesable.
The same holds true for WinTel "hidden" directories/files, in explorer they just show up as a lighter shade ( grayed out) but are still accessable like any other directory.
Hein

Hide / Show hidden files & folders

I have an iMac 12,1 that I recently formatted and and gave a clean install of Yosemite. A few days ago I needed a file from a Time Machine backup from my Mac Mini. The folder it was in was hidden, so I used the following command to show the hidden folder. ---- defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES , then killall Finder to restart the Finder. The hidden folder appeared up and I retrieved the files I wanted. When I type defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO, and restart the Finder, the files will not hide again.
I've tried restarting, repairing permissions on the drive, etc... The caveat to this is that my home folder is on another volume. I have the 250 GB SSD as the primary, but my home folder is huge, so I put it on the second internal hard drive. I think this may be the issue. When I logon to an administrator account that has the home folder on the SSD, I can show and hide hidden folders without an issue.I tried moving my home folder back but the hidden files still showed
Is there a way to fix this without having to trash my account and start over ?

I just use the Hidden Files widget on the dashboard, just click on it to show hidden files in Finder, and click again to rehide. Very useful.
http://macinedu.wordpress.com/widgets/
Perhaps you can try it, it might solve your problem.

Show hidden files and folders

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