Show/Hide Hidden Files

When I am on my home network and logged into my other machines (one oc and one other mac) I get to see all the hidden files and it becomes quite confusing. I know its a simple toggle in Windows to show or hide hidden files. Is there a way to do this easily in Mac

Hello:
It's very easy.
1. Open Automator.app
2. It will open with a drop down menu.
In the drop down menu select >custom > choose
3. In the variables list choose "Run Shell Script", double click it,
a command box will open.
4. type in (the first line) defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
5. press return
6. type in (the 2nd line) killall Finder
should see this in the box:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
7. At the top left of your screen select > file > save as plugin
8. A box will open > Save Plug-in as:
9. Give it a name like "Show Hidden Files" (without the quotes).
10. Make sure "Plug-in for: finder" (second line) is selected also. Click Save.
You are almost done.
Repeat the process substituting:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
In step 6 and
"Hide Hidden Files"
in step 9.
Now both commands are placed on the finder context menu.
You can Access them using Control + Click or setting up a secondary mouse button.
Kj

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[Mac 4.0.2] Show/Hide Hidden Characters

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Hi John,
I modified my script and now I am getting error when I run it first time and when I run it again then it run fine.
set the date_stamp to ((the current date) as string)
tell application "Finder" to quit
set OnOff to do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles"
if OnOff = "NO" or OnOff = "OFF" then
set OnOff to "ON"
tell application "Finder"
display dialog "Show all hidden files in this Mac ?" & return & return & date_stamp buttons {"Show Hidden Files", "Cancel"} default button 2 with title "/MSN/" with icon 1
end tell
else
set OnOff to "OFF"
tell application "Finder"
display dialog "Hide all hidden files in this Mac ?" & return & return & date_stamp buttons {"Hide Hidden Files", "Cancel"} default button 2 with title "/MSN/" with icon 1
end tell
end if
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles " & OnOff
delay 1
tell application "Finder" to launch

How to Hide "Hidden Files"??

This is a question that has stumped AppleCare when I called them last week, and the "Geniuses" at my local AppleStore yesterday....So, throwing it out here. On upgrading my new 17" MBP last week to Snow Leopard I discovered the Finder was showing a lot of System files that normally are "hidden". IE: bin, cores, etc, mack kernal, tmp, usr, var. The regular way of dealing with these files is to make them "hidden" with a Terminal command, but that didn't work. I reinstalled Snow Leopard twice, that didn't work, the Genuis applied a Widget to hide the files, that didn't work either. Somehow the Snow Leopard installation has labelled these files as visible and will not allow Terminal to re-label them so that they go back to their proper "hidden" state.
I cannot with Snow Leopard find a way to "Archive and Reinstall" so that I could sort of shove aside the troubled system and put another clean one in place like we could with Leopard and previous OSX installations. So does anyone have any ideas what may have happened here and how I can address it without the painful solution of wiping the HD and reinstalling and re-registering everything like Photoshop, FCP, Lightroom, Aperture and a host of other software? Something I am trying to avoid. Thanks............

Peter Mullett wrote:
This is a question that has stumped AppleCare when I called them last week, and the "Geniuses" at my local AppleStore yesterday....So, throwing it out here. On upgrading my new 17" MBP last week to Snow Leopard I discovered the Finder was showing a lot of System files that normally are "hidden". IE: bin, cores, etc, mack kernal, tmp, usr, var. The regular way of dealing with these files is to make them "hidden" with a Terminal command,
which terminal command are you talking about? the regular fix is this
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071107023334449
it's for leopard but I believe it works for snow leopard too.
but that didn't work. I reinstalled Snow Leopard twice, that didn't work, the Genuis applied a Widget to hide the files, that didn't work either. Somehow the Snow Leopard installation has labelled these files as visible and will not allow Terminal to re-label them so that they go back to their proper "hidden" state.
I cannot with Snow Leopard find a way to "Archive and Reinstall" so that I could sort of shove aside the troubled system and put another clean one in place like we could with Leopard and previous OSX installations. So does anyone have any ideas what may have happened here and how I can address it without the painful solution of wiping the HD and reinstalling and re-registering everything like Photoshop, FCP, Lightroom, Aperture and a host of other software? Something I am trying to avoid. Thanks............

How to hide hidden files in Java Browser

My application has a browser. I use the following method from FileSystemView
public File[] getFiles(File dir,
boolean useFileHiding)
with false as the second argument so that the browser doesn't display hidden files.
It doesn't work completely.
I found out there are two types of hidden files in Mac. the ones that being with "." (unix based) and the ones that have an invisibility attribute for the meta of the file (folders like /usr, /bin, /tmp, /etc).
The getFiles filter works only for hidden files that start with "." but it still shows the second type of hidden files.
For the second type of hidden files in Mac, how can I get the invisibility file attribute information in Java so that I can hide them from the file browser?
I am aware of GetFileInfo and the SetFile tool allows setting those flags. But how can I call those functions from java? And once i get the attributes of a file I don't know how to apply a filter to FileSystemView?
thanks,

The GetFileInfo tool that ships with the XCode Tools can display the file's information. Additionally, the SetFile tool allows setting those flags. How you use java to implement those, I suggest you ask at the Unix forum under OS X Technologies.

How to hide hidden files using java FileSystemView

My application has a browser. I use the following method from FileSystemView
public File[] getFiles(File dir,
boolean useFileHiding)
with false as the second argument so that the browser doesn't display hidden files.
It doesn't work completely.
I found out there are two types of hidden files in Mac. the ones that being with "." (unix based) and the ones that have an invisibility attribute for the meta of the file (folders like /usr, /bin, /tmp, /etc).
The getFiles filter works only for hidden files that start with "." but it still shows the second type of hidden files.
For the second type of hidden files in Mac, how can I get the invisibility file attribute information in Java so that I can hide them from the file browser?
thanks,

The GetFileInfo tool that ships with the XCode Tools can display the file's information. Additionally, the SetFile tool allows setting those flags. How you use java to implement those, I suggest you ask at the Unix forum under OS X Technologies.

My iBook doesn't show the hidden files on my pen drive

Hi there,
I have a 1 Gb Kingston pen drive to transfer files from/to my work PC (which is a Windows PC).
The pen drive works seamlessly on the Windows PC. But when using it on Mac iBook G4 it always leaves some "markers" of the files used like "._trash". These are not very big, but I wonder:
1) Why does Mac create those apparently useless files?
2) Why can I only see those apparently useless files on Windows PCs but not on Mac? (i.e. if I didn't have to regularly use a Windows PC my pen drive would get filled up with useless information without me even knowing)
3) Why can I add or alter files from Mac to pen drive, but I cannot simply delete files on the pen drive using my Mac (again, I need to retort to my olde Windows PC to do such a "basic" operation).
I always press the eject button before unplugging my pen drive.
I always find annoying that external devices that work just fine and as expected on Windows PCs create endless problems and issues when connected to Mac (have similar issues with my Sony digital camera).
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Hello Soave
Hope to answer some Qs.
1) The files aren't useless to OS X. Please follow this link to read more.
2) Mac OS X is based around Unix. In Unix, the convention to hide files is to prefix a full-stop. Windows does not recognise this as a hidden file and hence will simply show them with the preceding full-stop.
3) I can't answer this one as I can see no reason why you should be allowed to alter them but not delete them. It's obvious you have write access to them. I use a thumb drive on my Mac and I have no such problems.
I haven't personally used it, but this program might be of use to you.
James

How can I hide hidden files again?

Hi I just bought a new macbook pro with maverick 10.9.3 I believe and made my hidden files viewable to extract certain data. But now I want to hide the files again how do I go about doing that?
thanks!

You could try it in Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
Then:
killall Finder

Showing/Hiding Hidden Files

Hey I was trying to fix a problem with my Macbook and turned on hidden files by typing a command in Terminal. Now I want to switch off showing hidden files. How do I do it?

Hey Reverie,
There is a much better alternative, instead of opening terminal back and forth for showing and hiding files, why not create a keyboard shortcut for it? Yes, it's possible. and the good thing is that every time you do it, it updates the Finder window automatically unlike the Terminal procedure you need to open or update the current Finder window.
Use Automator to add the shell script and manually add a new keyboard shortcut hot keys in System Preferences...
I have a blog tutorial for a more detailed instruction
Ernesto

Scout file explorer - shows ALL hidden files, how do I stop this?

Hi People,
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Kind regards
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Hi Carolyn,
That was the first thing I tried, as yet they not responded. I tried sending another e-mail (only form of communication they offer via their site).
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Mac Yosemite Dreamweaver CC ftp show hidden files

I can not locate the hidden file setting in latest Dreamweaver running on Yosemite.
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Do it from the terminal: Quickly Show/Hide Hidden Files on Mac OS X Mavericks & Yosemite | Ian Lunn - Front End Developer

Can't hide Hidden folders and files.

Hi All,
This past weekend I transferred my OS and apps to a newly installed SSD drive.
During the process I had to move some files around in order to get The OS and Apps on the SSD.
I used a technique that utilizes the Terminal and the chflags command.
My issue is now I can not hide the files and folders that are usually hidden.
I can't remember the exact method I used to unhide hidden folders and files. I can't even find a reference to it in my web browsers history.
I have searched on the web for solutions along these lines:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean FALSE ; killall Finder
chflags hidden
sudo chflags hidden
But none of these approaches have worked.
I have downloaded Onyx, TinkerTool and Show Hide Invisible Files.
I have used them as best I understand to hide the normally hidden files and folders, but nothing has worked.
Any Command Line gurus out there have any suggestions?
Many Thanks in Advance!
Tem

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Show Info in Finder (or just Show Info)
from the contextual menu.* An Info dialog should open.
☞ Does the dialog show "You can read and write" in the Sharing & Permissions section?
☞ In the General section, is the box labeled Locked checked?
☞ What is the Modified date?
If you don't have read and write access to the item, change the settings as directed here. Note, however, that if one file has wrong access settings, most likely others do as well. If the item is locked, unlock it.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Open a TextEdit window and paste into it (command-V). Select the line you just pasted and continue as above.

Trashed files on a Toshiba stick , found by turning on show hidden files.

I rescued a bunch of files from a memory stick by the above method. I dropped these into a new folder on the laptop.
When I went into the folder , all were available. But After turning off "show all hidden files," I lost some , but not all , files. They are retrievable by using the switch again of course.
I was wondering if there is some code that might be modified in these files to make them all be "not hidden."
Thanks.
8 gig TOSHIBA STICK. SNOW LEOPARD ON MBP.

If you are not comfortable with the command line...
once you have turned on "show hidden files," note the names of the now unhidden files.
Each one should start with "."
remove the "." and the files will be visible when you turn off the show hidden files flag

Showing hidden files temporarily

Is there a way to show all hidden files in the Finder for just one window?
I've found this tip on always displaying all files:
http://www.osxfaq.com/DailyTips/02-2005/02-01.ws
But I would like to do this only temporarily, rather than changing system-wide behavior and having to remember to change it back.
Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Try OnyX.
-mj
[email protected]

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.

How do I find hidden files/folder in the Users folder?

Hi,
Is there any way to make certain files visible in the Users folder? I purchased a plug-in and in order for the update to correctly work, I need to find the old file (which is hidden.) I tried Spotlight but it didn't find anything.
Any tips/help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. Enter or paste the following command line then press RETURN.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes
To hide hidden files substitute No for Yes in the above command line.
To use Spotlight you need to enable the search for hidden files. You need to click on the "+" button next the the Save button in the search bar of the Finder. Then select Other from the Kind drop down menu. Locate the "File Invisible" attribute from the list and check it to enable it. You can now select the option to display or not display invisible files.
Download Easy Find - VersionTracker or MacUpdate - and use it instead of Spotlight. Easy Find will find everything Spotlight doesn't find.

Show/Hide Hidden Files

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