- Dec 20, 2018 These files remain visible until the next time you use the command again or restart/shutdown your Mac. To see all your user folder’s hidden files, open your user folder and press Command+Shift+Period, and all those hidden folders appear in gray. To hide them, press that same set of keys again. Show User Library Temporarily.
- Jan 22, 2019 How to view a Mac’s /Library folder. Open the Finder. Go to your Macintosh HD folder (access this from Devices in the left column) Hold down Cmd + Shift +. (dot) All the hidden files will become visible. Hold down Cmd + Shift +. (dot) a second time to hide the files again.
Sep 27, 2016 Make sure “Show Library Folder” is checked. Close the window, and the Library folder will be revealed. The Library folder is no longer hidden, and will stay visible until you change this setting back. The easiest way to show hidden files is to use the free Funter application. Funter allows you to find, hide and search for hidden files on your Mac in just a few clicks. Follow these steps to show hidden files on Mac: Launch Funter to manage hidden files. Click Show Hidden Files in the menu bar. Hidden files are visible on your Mac. Some troubleshooting procedures require you to navigate to and view a hidden folder on Mac. 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/ Click Go. Most of them are hidden away in the /Library folder, but the truth is that the average Mac holds a treasure trove of files and folders that you either no longer need or may want to access for troubleshooting purposes.
FonePaw - Solution - Mac - Show Hidden Files/Folders
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.
Mac Show Hidden Folders Library 2017
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.
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.
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.
![Mac Show Hidden Folders Library Mac Show Hidden Folders Library](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125696458/198937479.jpg)
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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