Viewing system files in finder

Is there a change I can make to enable finder to view /var /etc and other system directories?
Thanks.
-- James

I would strongly advise against killing the "Finder" - file transfers might be interrupted, or more unpredictably, data loss eg. in the form of "Comments" can occur. Avoid "Force Quit", "Relaunch" or any sort of 'kill' / 'killall' if possible.
Instead, quit it nicely, eg. using "Activity Monitor.app" (use "Quit", not "Force Quit"). There are other ways, such as AppleScript, or enabling the "Quit" menu in "Finder". That way, "Finder" will wait until it is finished doing something before quitting, and allow it to save any unsaved changes as well.

Similar Messages

How to hide system files in finder

Is there a way to hide .? files and systems files that are grayed out in finder?

Open the Script Editor or AppleScript Editor in one of the subfolders of Applications and run the following:
tell application "Finder" to quit
if (do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles") is "1" then
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 0"
else
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1"
end if
delay 2
tell application "Finder" to run
If you change your mind later, run the script again.
(70820)

View original Files in Finder

Hello,
I just updated from iPhoto 5 to iPhoto 6 and I have a little problem:
when I right-click on a thumbnail (Ctrl+click) of my library, the option "View original in the Finder" appear in grey ... so I have to go myself in the Finder to retreive the original file...
Can somebody help me?
Tks,
Lins
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

The Show Original File is grey because the image has not been modified. In this case the menu option is Show File. Once you edit an image then the Show Original File becomes availble.

Viewing iPhoto files in finder

I haven't been able to look at my iPhoto picture files through finder or adobe bridge ever since I got Leopard. It shows the iPhoto icon but there are no extensions from that and clicking on it only opens iPhoto, which is no help because I want to open the files with Photoshop to edit them. This was never a problem with Tiger..any ideas?

Your photos are in a package - the iPhoto library in the Pictures folder
To edit in Photoshop the best option is to set photoshop as the editor in the iPhoto preferences (iPhoto menu ==> preferences ==> edit photos n application and navigate to photoshop
Then just save from photoshop and iPhoto will maintain its database integrity
For a complete discussion see TD's comments here - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6056594&#6056594
Also you might want to post iPhoto questions in the iPhoto forum for more response
Larry Nebel

View DNG files in Finder (Lightroom 5) HELP ME

CAN'T SEEM TO VIEW MY PICS IN FINDER ALL I GET IS DNG ICON.
THANKS FOR THE HELP
RAVI

Hi RAVI
I have no problem displaying DNGs in Finder (see screenshot below). Images even open fully in Preview. I'm running OSX 10.9.1

Lacie hard drive, how do I view the files in Finder so I can delete some backups made by TimeMachine?

I have a 500GB La Cie external hard drive which Time Machine says is now too full to make way for the next backup.
I thought it would automatically delete the earliest backup to make way for the new but apparently not.
Can I look at the files in Finder and delete previous backups manually as I can't see how else to do it except buy another hard drive?
I have a Macbook pro new using Lion.

Time machine should do that automatically. Nevertheless, read this article:
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html
If all else fails you might consider erasing your external drive and reinstalling Time machine. That though eliminates all history that you have on Time Machine.
Ciao.

Lacie hard drive, how do I view the files in Finder so I can delete some backups?

My LaCie hard drive is full so I need to delete some backups but although the disk is mounted in Finder I cannot see the backup files to delete any. How do I do this please?
Thanks Brian

Lion Mac OS X Communities
www.apple.com/support/timemachine
MacBook Pro Apple Support
MacBook Pro
Buy another backup drive. Keep this as is. depends on what and how you do backups. TimeMachine? there are program utilities to help manage but it is 'suppose' to manage itself (have 3.5x capacity of data you backup helps). You didn't say what type of backup method was used.
This is forum for Mac tower "Pro" workstation, not notebooks.

Viewing invisible files

Dear reader, I have discovered my Hard Drive has over 186GB of files labled as 'other', and i cant find what they are, I tried viewing invicable files through finder but i have empty list, but im not sure which part of my system to select to locate inviable files i dont know the names of.
can you help
yours
phil

For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article. If the Storage display seems to be inaccurate, try rebuilding the Spotlight index.
Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
Back up all data now.
If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
Install the app you downloaded in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
sudo /Applications/GrandPerspective.app/Contents/MacOS/GrandPerspective
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

How to access system files

How to see system files in Finder (e.g. the main mail data file) ?

Not sure what "system files" you mean, but you might find it when you have Finder opened and look in your Menu bar (which starts with the  logo).
Then you find "Go" to the right.
1. For the system files -> Click Computer in the list, then Macintosh HD (Or what ever your hard disk is named) and then there is a folder name "System".
You might also mean that you are trying to find the library, which is located there also.
2. If it is the library you are seeking, you might need the "User Library" which is hidden by default.
To get that, open the "Go" menu again and then press and hold the "Option(or alt)" on your keyboard.
Then "Library" will show up in the middle of the list, and that is your user library.
I hope I was a bit of help, please do note that these folders contain very important information.
I strongly advise you to only adjust anything in there, if you perfectly know what you are doing.
Cheers~

Can't view new files just saved on a shared drive/server

I have just created a file in Illustrator and saved it in a folder on a network drive.
I then try to view that file in finder and I cannot see it. I know it is there because I can view the contents of this network drive from a PC and it's there. I connect to the network drive as a Guest and I've tried connecting as Clair Richardson. When I connect as Guest I can see all files except the ones I just saved, when I connect as Clair Richardson the entire contents of the folder are not visible.
Can anyone help me?
I just clicked on the network drive in question and it said I was connected as clairr and I can now see the files I just created! Can anyone tell me what is going on?
Message was edited by: jp.cr

Hi,
Windows Media Player and Flip4Mac are both PowerPC only at the moment, so yes you'll have to use Rosetta for the time being.
Windows Media Player never will be available for the Mac Intel platform (Microsoft no longer develop it) but Flip4Mac are working on porting their plugin 'sometime soon'.

I have a bunch of system files that should be hidden, but are visible in my finder folder (for example, a file called ".Ds_Store appears). How can I hide these from view?

I have a macbook pro, and a few months ago I had to find some hidden system files. I asked a discussion question, and someone helped me to display all the hidden folders. However, now I can't figure out a way to hide these files again (I no longer need to see them). How do I do this? It's not just one file, but a whole bunch of files.

Open the Script Editor or AppleScript Editor in one of the subfolders of Applications and run the following:
tell application "Finder" to quit
if (do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles") is "1" then
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 0"
else
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1"
end if
delay 2
tell application "Finder" to run
If you change your mind later, run the script again.
(64381)

Finder relaunches when viewing M2V file info ...

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but I imagine I'm most likely to find an answer here. So, here it goes:
As the topic states, the Finder relaunches itself whenever I try to view the file info of a M2V file. This happens when I'm attempting to "Get Info" or simply scrolling the window to the right. More specifically, this occurs when I reach the "Kind" column (removing "Kind" from the window disables the problem). While I wouldn't mind simply excluding "Kind" from my windows, I am still unable to "Get Info" on any M2V files. Any ideas why this may be occuring?
The Files:
- compressed with Compressor 2.0.1, via Final Cut Pro 5.0.2 (source media uses "Animation" codec)
- MPEG-2 compression
- 1-pass, 7.5 Mbs CBR, 29.97fps progressive, 720x 480
The System:
- Dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
- 2.5 GB RAM
- 372.62 GB SATA RAID (96.11 GB available)
- OS 10.3.9 (all "Software Updates" installed)
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
take care & God bless,
Steve Cole

I suspect you are seeing a variation of the problem discussed in the following link:
Waymen, "quicktime 7.0.2. and m2v" #4, 11:35pm Sep 8, 2005 CDT
However, since you experience a crash in the Finder when you try to access the Get Info you will have to use a different technique to reset the file association. Select one of the .m2v files that is giving you a problem and then do a control-click (or right click) to show the Finder's contextual menu, then go to the Open With item and select Other... and click the Always Open With checkbox and then navigate to your QuickTime Player and select it as the application to open. This will change the file association for the .m2v file kind and it should fix the problem. You may want to do a system reboot after you do the above fix.
Summary: control-click or right click on the problem .m2v file then:
Open With -> Other... -> (select "Always Open With" checkbox) -> Open (choose) QuickTime Player.
If this suggestion helps in any way, a confirmation or acknowledgment would be appreciated, since that would also help others who may be having the same difficulty. Do for others as you would have them help you.

I used a partitioned HDD for time machine, using a partition already containing other data files. I am now no longer able to view that partition in Finder. Disk Utility shows it in grey and "not mounted". Any suggestions of how to access the files?

I used a partitioned HDD for time machine, using a partition already containing other data files. I am now no longer able to view that partition in Finder. Disk Utility shows it in grey and "not mounted". Any suggestions of how to access the files? Does using time machine mean that that partition is no longer able to be used as it used to be?
HDD is a Toshiba 1TB, partitioned into two 500GB partitions.
OS X version 10.9.2

Yes, sharing a TM disk is a bad idea, and disks are cheap enough so that you don't need to.
Now
Have you tried to repair the disk yet

When i use view as list in finder and open a folder with many files i cant right click with mouse without selecting or highlighting a file....i just want to right click to paste an item or create a new folder...what can i do?

When i use view as list in finder and open a folder with many files i cant right click with mouse without selecting or highlighting a file....i just want to right click to paste an item or create a new folder...what can i do?

Thx for that im gonna try it....but is there a way to do it without using toolbar or cmd-c...? i mean using only the mouse?why does it have to highlight the file even though i click a bit next to it....?using icon view i can right click next to the folder and i wont have a problem but with list view that i prefer using it will highlight the whole row.....and i dont find free space to right click cause i got many files

HELP - iMac can't find system file for start-up

Hi,
My Rev. B iMac (running OS 9.2) suddenly can't find the system file. I was working in MS Word for Mac when the system crashed. Upon start-up the computer couldn't find the system and showed a flashing question mark in an old floppy disk icon.
I started from my original OS 8.5 Install disk and ran disk utilities. That fixed a problem that was detected.
BUT the flashing disk continued at start-up.
I tried to "re-bless" the system folder as described in the Apple iMac trouble shooting guide, but no luck.
All my data is still on the hard drive, I just can't get the machine to start from the hard drive -- it will only start from the Install CD.
Any ideas on how I can get it to start up?
I really don't want to reinstall OS 8.5 and then go through the upgrade to get back to OS 9.2 again if I don't have to!
Thanks,
Mike

Hi, Michael -
Welcome to Apple's Discussions.
I really don't want to reinstall OS 8.5 and then go through the upgrade to get back to OS 9.2 again if I don't have to!
Installing OS 8.5 is not needed, since there is no update available to take any version of OS 8 to any version of OS 9. An OS 9 install must start with a full-install CD; for your model, that means any retail OS 9 Install CD (white label, gold 9).
What version of OS 9 was on the hard drive - OS 9.2.1, or OS 9.2.2?
What version OS 9 Install CD do you have available?

Viewing system files in finder

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