![File File](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126097800/568864891.jpg)
RELATED: 7 Ubuntu File Manager Features You May Not Have Noticed. Click the “Show hidden” option in your file manager of choice to view hidden files and folders on Linux. For example, in the Nautilus file manager used on Ubuntu and other GNOME-based Linux distributions, click the View menu and select Show Hidden Files. Hidden File Manager is a Mac app developed by Phoebe Ng / HostPlugin.com. Hidden File Manager allows you to hide certain files. Files hidden by using this program are password locked and can be auto-destructed. Even Spotlight won’t be able to see your files: only you can! Excellent interface.
Updates
- Added shortcut method available on macOS Sierra keyboard.
- Method of showing/hiding hidden files tested and working on macOS Sierra.
- Method of showing/hiding hidden files tested and working on Mac OS X El Capitan.
It seems like every day I search Google for the command to show hidden files on Mac OS X, not to mention Googling for the command to then hide those hidden files a few minutes later.
Today I decided to make a short and easy to remember alias to speed up the process. All I need do now is type
showFiles
and hideFiles
whenever I need to show/hide OS X's hidden files. Mac os photoshop free download. Here's how you can do it too.The Quickest Way to Show/Hide Hidden Files
Since the release of macOS Sierra, when in Finder, it is now possible to use the shortcut:
Press once to show hidden files and again to hide them. If you're using a version earlier than macOS Sierra, see Show/Hide Hidden Files using Terminal Aliases to setup a toggle command via terminal.
Thanks to Guido Schlabitz for making me aware of this new shortcut.
Show/Hide Hidden Files the Long Way
The long way to show hidden Mac OS X files is as follows:
- Open Terminal found in Finder > Applications > Utilities
- In Terminal, paste the following:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
- Press return
- Hold the 'Option/alt' key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.
This will show all hidden files. To hide them again, follow the same steps but replace the Terminal command with:
It's not the longest set of instructions or the biggest command to commit to memory but if you're doing this a lot, it's worth spending a few minutes now to save yourself a lot more time in the future.
Show/Hide Hidden Files using Terminal Aliases
A Terminal alias is a name or shortcut for one or multiple commands. Using an easy to remember alias, we can turn the above four step process into just one.
An alias can be made temporarily (just for the use of one terminal session) or permanently. As we want this to be a shortcut used now and in the future, let's make it permanent:
- Open Terminal found in Finder > Applications > Utilities
- In Terminal, paste the following:
sudo nano ~/.bash_profile
- Enter your Mac's administration password if required, then hit return
- At the bottom of the open .bash_profile file, paste the following:
alias showFiles='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app'
- Below that, paste the following:
alias hideFiles='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app'
- Press ctrl + O and hit return to save the file
- Press ctrl + X to exit the file and return to the command line
- In Terminal, paste the following:
source ~/.bash_profile
to refresh your profile and make the aliases available
Now when you want to show hidden files, all you need type in Terminal is
showFiles
, then hideFiles
when you want to hide them.If you want to modify the behaviour or alias names, let's take a closer look at the commands you just added:
![Hidden File Manager Mac Download Hidden File Manager Mac Download](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126097800/854413985.png)
alias
tells Terminal we're adding a new alias.showFiles
is the name of the alias. Change this to what you wish.We then give the alias two commands. The first being:
This is the command to show hidden files and is ended with a semi-colon
;
so we can then use the second command:This will relaunch the Finder (to replicate the step of holding the 'Option/alt' key then right clicking the Finder icon in the dock).
Conclusion
With the aliases set up, all you need do in the future is type
showFiles
and hideFiles
to show and hide Mac OS X's hidden files respectively.Aliases can be used to speed up your interaction with the Terminal. Set up an alias for navigating to your most used directories, to commit to a GitHub repo and so on.
Ian Lunn is a Front-end Developer with 12 years commercial experience, author of CSS3 Foundations, and graduate of Internet Technology. He creates successful websites that are fast, easy to use, and built with best practices.
In an era where privacy is getting harder and harder to find, an increasing number of tech fans are resorting to alternative tech tools to ensure that secret stuff stays secret. There’s been a big upturn in interest for VPN services and private email services in recent months, but what about protecting your local files from prying eyes? If you’d like to keep certain files on your computer away from prying eyes, a Mac App called Hidden File Manager may interest you.
What is it and what does it do
Main Functionality Joe and mac rom download windows 10.
Hidden File Manager is a Mac app developed by Phoebe Ng / HostPlugin.com. Hidden File Manager allows you to hide certain files. Files hidden by using this program are password locked and can be auto-destructed. Even Spotlight won’t be able to see your files: only you can!
Pros
- Excellent interface
- Only you can access your hidden files: a search of your system using Spotlight or Finder won’t turn them up!
- Drag and drop functionality makes completing bulk “hide” actions a breeze
- App icon lives in the menu bar and takes up very little space
- Allows you to complete a support ticket from within the app with ease
Cons
Hidden File Manager Mac Download Version
- You will need to change the default password in order to start using the app
- Some users have complained about holes in the security (being able to locked audio and video easily, for example)
- You can only set self-destruct after X numbers of failed password attempts (where X is any multiple of 5 between 5 and 25, or never)
- Would be nice to be able to drag and drop files to hide them by dragging right on to the menu bar icon
Discussion
View Hidden File Mac
Hidden File Manager works fairly simply. Basically, to hide your files, you click on the file icon in the status bar and select Hidden File Manager. You then use Finder to hide/lock any files that you want to keep secreted away. You just drag and drop the files into the table and change the lock/hide settings.
You can also change the password from the app’s default setting, or set up a self-destruct feature to “burn” your hidden files in the event of too many incorrect password attempts.
Overall, this app is fairly easy to use. I do wish it was slightly easier to drag files into the “hidden” area. I also wish that it was possible to set up more than one password. This would be great for a computer that has multiple users, or for people who want to be able burn the drive with a single “auto-destruct” password.
Conclusion and download link
This app worked just fine for me in testing, though it was a bit more cumbersome than I would have liked. It’s a decent enough app, and it may just suit your needs. There are, however, several other options out there that can accomplish the same basic task. Try a couple other options to see what you like best, because this app isn’t always the most user-friendly option out there.
Price: Free
Delete Hidden Files Mac
Version reviewed: 1.1
Supported OS: OS X 10.7 or later
Download size: 4.3 MB