There are many reasons why you might want to look at hidden files or folders on your Mac. You might not know it, but there are thousands of hidden files and folders on your computer that you shouldn’t disturb or modify. However, there may be occasions where you need to locate certain hidden files. Sometimes just out of curiosity or perhaps to locate some hidden folder for troubleshooting purposes. In this case, you should learn how to show hidden files and folders.
Some experienced or advanced users know that when you have a problem with an app, you might need to remove a preference file or find logs to help you fix the problem. Some hidden files also take up a lot of space on your hard disk. However, if you don’t know how to do show hidden files and folders, you won’t be able to deal with these issues.
- You can access the Library folder with the Go To Folder command or from the Terminal app. Access the Library folder in Finder: In Finder, choose Go Go To Folder In the Go To The Folder field, enter /library/.
- Dec 04, 2017 The library folder is the area of your MacOS computer where app settings are stored. When you install a program, a folder is created in the Library for all of the essential settings. This can be anything from plugins, preference files and log files. It’s hidden because basically some people are just plain clumsy and quite often don’t know what they are deleting.
First, let me tell you what files are hidden and why are they hidden on your Mac.
May 01, 2019 The two methods above reveal the library folder in a Finder window, but once you close that window, the folder is hidden again. You can keep it visible on your Mac.
Where do hidden files come from?
Both macOS and linux are based on the UNIX operating system. You can call the macOS a special UNIX. MacOS has almost the same contents as UNIX but the macOS has a “desktop environment” which helped it become the world’s second most popular operating system. In Unix, there is always a “.” in front of hidden file names and they won’t be displayed until you manually change the system to view hidden files. All kinds of files could be hidden files, such as a .bash profile or a .git directory. System folders like /private, /bin, /etc, /usr are also hidden by default.
Why are they hidden on your Mac?
The real reason that Apple set some files and folders hidden by default is that there is a risk to the system if you delete or modify these folders and files. I believe that most people are not advanced users. Apple regards these files or folder as significant files so be careful if you don’t know what you are doing, otherwise your Mac will lose data or could even be damaged.
How to show hidden items?
There are three methods to show hidden files/folders:
Method 1: Using Finder
• Keyboard shortcut
I highly recommend this way to show hidden files and folder since it is not only the easiest way, but also the quickest way.
If you are using the macOS Sierra or a higher version, you can open your Finder, then hit “command + shift + .(dot)” on your keyboard to show hidden files/folders.
If you hit the keyboard combination again, they will change back to original hidden status.
However, if you are running an older version than macOS Sierra, please choose Method 2: Using Terminal to show your hidden files.
• Keep certain folders visible
After performing method 1, you can see the hidden files or folder on your Mac. But sometimes you want to keep them always visible to make it easy to access. For example, you might want to make the hidden folder “~/Library” always visible since it stores your personal application support files and other important files. Here is how to do it.
Drag the hidden Library folder icon from Finder to the sidebar. This is the fastest way and it will keep the folder accessible even if you relaunch your Finder.
You can also hold down “command + alt” and drag the Library folder to your desktop to make a shortcut icon on your desktop.
• Go to certain folder (including hidden folders)
In some situations, you may already know the exact folder that you wish to view. You can follow the steps below to reach certain folders directly on your Mac:
1. Open a Finder window.
2. Open “Go to Folder…” by pressing the following keys; “shift + command + G” on your keyboard.
3. In the Go to the folder: dialog box, type the name of the directory you want to view.
Method 2: Using Terminal
Do you think the first method is too simple? Let’s try the hands-on method. Terminal, which is regarded as one of the most powerful app on Mac, can do anything you want to do since it owns the highest permission. Terminal can be found in spotlight very easily.
Then type the following command in terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
This command helps you set your Finder to show all files on your Mac.
If you want to switch them back to hidden status, you need to repeat the operation but remember to change the last word to false.
killall Finder
This command helps you restart your Finder to make your change effective.
You can also start the Terminal application from Launchpad. Now I should mention that all terminal commands listed in this article can be cut and pasted right into Terminal so you don’t have to re-type them.
Method 3: Using AppleScript
Do you prefer another option? Don’t worry! You can make a simple app with AppleScript.
1. Open “AppleScript” or “Script Editor” from your Launchpad. (The name of it depends on the system version, you can just type “script” in Spotlight)
2. Copy and paste this code into the edit window:
display dialog “Hide/Show Hidden Files and Folder” buttons {“Show”, “Hide”}
set switch to button returned of result
if switch is “Hide” then
do shell script “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false;
KillAll Finder”
else
do shell script “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true;
KillAll Finder”
endif
3. Click the Play button to compile the code.
4. Choose a folder then save and set the file format to “Application.”
Now the new app, named “Show/Hide Hidden Files and Folders”, has been generated by you. Do you feel a sense of achievement now? You can show or hide your hidden files with just one-click. It’s really easy to control.
Conclusion
Mac Show Hidden Library Folder Windows 7
After all these instructions, no matter which method you choose, I believe you know how to show all the files on your Mac.
How to keep your Mac always safe?
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that sometimes we need to show hidden files and folders for troubleshooting purposes. You might be curious about why we should do this. I will tell you the reason. Although macOS is not open like Windows, it may still have malicious code like chill-tab. It’s really annoying if your browser has popups or always jumps to advertisement websites when you open a new tab. Almost all viruses or malware are usually hidden in your Mac, that’s why we need to show hidden items.
To make your Mac safe, we recommend Antivirus One. This popular and effective tool was developed by Trend Micro, an industry leader in computer security. Thousands of users have provided positive comments in the App Store. Antivirus One detects viruses on your Mac for free. You can also use it to clean adware, clean privacy in your browser, and even protect your web experience. After Antivirus One finds a virus or malware on your Mac, you can use it to remove them easily no matter whether they are hidden or not.
Try it for free to keep your Mac always safe.
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There can be hundreds of reasons why we need to hide certain files on the Mac computer, either for privacy or for security. Your Mac also has its secret files to hide, which are usually the system data like the application support files, other access and preferences information, for example, the ~/Library folder.
Those files or folders are hidden by default for Mac's smooth running, but in case you need to view them for examining or repairing, here we will offer you several methods to show the hidden files and folders on Mac, which can work on macOS Mojave, macOS High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, and more.
Just a head-up: you should make sure that you know what you are doing when making changes to those system hidden files, or else changing important system files could cause trouble to your Mac.
Related Reading:
Method 1: See Hidden Files and Folders on Mac with Shortcut
One of the simplest ways to view the hidden files/folders on Mac is using the keyboard shortcut to reveal the hidden files. But this method requires you remember the saving path of them.
Access hidden ~/Library folder with shortcut
Step 1: Open Finder.
Step 2: Expand the Go menu.
Step 3: Press Option and the Library folder will be revealed.
See other hidden files/folders with shortcut
Step 1: On the Finder menu, click on Go > Go to Folder….
Step 2: Type in the saving path that you put the secret files/folders in, as well as the file name, for example, '~/Desktop/SecretFiles'. And then hit the Go button or press Enter key.
Step 3: Open Finder window, click on a different folder first.
Step 4: Click on the folder you saved the secret files, and then press Command + Shift + Period ('.') key. Then the hidden files will appear. (Note: most of the default hidden files are named starting with a '.'.)
Method 2: Show Hidden Files in Finder with Terminal
If you don't remember, or don't know the exact path where the secret files are, you can access them through Terminal:
Step 1: Launch Terminal by searching it in Spotlight, or from Finder > Utilities.
Step 2: Type in: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE. Click Enter. Then type: killall Finder. Click Enter.
Step 3: Right-click on the Finder icon in the Dock, and choose 'Hide'.
Step 4: Click on Finder icon again to launch it. All the hidden files/folders, no matter the system ones or those you hid them deliberately, are supposed to show up now. Locate the one you are looking for.
TIP: After checking the secret files, if you want to hide them back again. In the Terminal window, execute these two commands and then the secret files/folders will vanish again as you wish.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
Method 3: Unhide Hidden Files with Terminal
If you once hid certain files in Terminal with the command containing 'hidden', to unhide them is quite simple:
Step 1: Open Terminal window and type in 'chflags nohidden '. Don't forget a space after the last word.
Step 2: Drag and drop the hidden files/folders to the Terminal window.
Step 3: Press Enter key to run the command. And then you'll find the previously hidden data is visible now.
Another way is to go back to the earlier hidden command and revise it:
Step 1: In the Terminal window, press the up arrow key to scan all the previous commands.
Step 2: Locate the earlier hidden command. Press the left arrow key to move to the word 'hidden' and change it to 'nohidden '. Again, don't forget the last space.
Step 3: Hit Enter key to run it.
Show Library Folder Windows 10
Method 4: Reveal Hidden Files/Folders Using Hidata (If you hid them on Hidata before)
If you used Hidata to hide secret files before, this smart Mac data management tool can also help you unhide them back easily:
Step 1: Click on Hidata icon to launch it.
Step 2: Enter the password and press Enter key to unlock.
Step 3: All the hidden folders will show up in the left side-bar. Locate the secret file(s) you want to unhide.
Show Hidden Files And Folders
Step 4: Click on the blue circle icon at the far-right side of the file name. Toggle it from blue to grey. When it is blue, the file will be hidden; while when it is toggled on grey, the hidden file will show up on your Mac normally.
There is also another more convenient way to show the hidden list in Hidata, as Hidata also has a shortcut in the menu bar:
Click on the Hidata shortcut.
In the pull-down dialog, enter your passcode and click the right arrow button to unlock it.
Here shows the list of all the hidden files on your Mac.
Click on the blue circle icon next to the file name. Toggle it from blue to grey in order to make the secret file(s) appear.
Do the methods above help you successfully discover the secret files/folders on your Mac? Any feedback or better solution is welcome to comment. If you find the guide useful, please give us a thumb-up and share it with more people!
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