How to Show Hidden Files and Folders on Mac? Complete Guide
Sometimes situations occur when we want to access hidden files and folders on our Mac. But we don’t know the correct way and steps to show hidden files and folders on Mac. Don’t worry, we are here with the complete guide to show hidden files on Mac.
On a Mac, a great number of files and folders are hidden. Users are less likely to inadvertently cause damage to the operating system if files and folders can be hidden since they are more difficult to access hidden files on Mac. Despite this, there may be situations when you need to find hidden files on a Mac.
You have a few different choices for how you may access files and folders that are hidden from view. However, use great caution: if you modify or corrupt system files, it may have severe repercussions for the operating system on your computer.
Also Read: How to Rename Files and Folders on Mac OS?
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Reasons Why Files and Folders are Hidden on Mac
There are times when it is beneficial to keep certain files and folders hidden inside an operating system. Files are hidden on computers by the manufacturer, administrators, and system administrators so that users cannot unintentionally damage or permanently delete files on Mac and system-related files and folders.
In other situations, your company can choose to conceal files and folders that are necessary for the efficient transfer of data to and from clients and other business partners. Even though they carry out necessary functions, you are unlikely to be aware of these files in the vast majority of instances.
How to Access Hidden Files on Mac?
Here we will show you 2 methods to view the hidden files on Mac, the first method is to access hidden folders on the Mac terminal and the second is how Mac shows hidden files and folders in the finder. The complete guide and steps are given below:
How to Show Hidden Files on a Mac Terminal?
- Firstly, open Launched and then search and open Terminal in the search box.
- Choose the folder where you wish to show hidden files and folders on Mac.
- Now type the command: ls -a
- The results of running the command display all of the files and folders found in the specified directory. The files that start with a comma or a dot are the ones that are concealed (.).
How Does Mac Show Hidden Files and Folders in Finder?
- Once again open Terminal on Mac Machine.
- Now type the command to update the AppleShowAllFiles value:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE - You will have to exit the Finder application before restarting it for the new setting to become active once it has been applied. To terminate Finder, use the following command.
killall Finder - Now start the finder on your Mac Machine to show hidden files and folders on Mac.
- Here you will get all the hidden files and folders on the finder.
Above we explained every possible method to access hidden folders on Mac. So, users can select the required method as per their needs.
Keyboard Shortcut that shows hidden Files on Mac OS
Mac users can access the hidden files with a simple shortcut key. Follow the steps to show hidden files with the shortcut key:
- Go to the Finder Application on Mac.
- Now, open the folder which might contain invisible files.
- Press Command+Shift+Period (CMD+Shift+.).
- Thus, it will preview all the files in the folder.
- Repeat the step to hide all the files in any folder.
Time to Say Goodbye
You can notice that it is not difficult to show hidden files and folders on Mac by using the “list all” command in Terminal. Additionally, you may use Terminal to set Finder to display hidden files if you so want. When interacting with them, use extreme caution since the files that they represent are often mission-critical for your operating system.
I hope that the details provided here can assist you in showing hidden files and folders on Mac. Please get in touch with me if you have any queries or feedback in this regard. I hope that you will get in touch with me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q) How do I view all the files with hidden files on macOS?
A) Use Terminal or Finder to access hidden files on Macintosh. Also, try out the shortcut key from the Finder App.
Q) What is the shortcut to view hidden files?
A) From the finder with shortcut key – Command+Shift+Period (CMD+Shift+.).