You've probably noticed more than once that you can't see hidden files in the Finder on your Mac. It doesn’t matter what operating system is installed on your computer - Mac OS, Windows or Linux, each of them has its own hidden folders and files, and creates new ones in the process.
If in the same Windows it is enough to check the box in the settings to show them, then enable showing hidden files in Mac OS a little more complicated. But after reading our instructions, viewing hidden files and folders on Mac will not be any problem for you. So, how do you enable hidden files on Mac OS? Very simple!
UPDATE: If you have Mac OS Sierra or later, just use the keyboard shortcut "shift+cmd+.".
If this doesn't work, then you are using Mac OS El Capitan or higher old version OS X, then the instructions below will help you.
Usually hidden folders and files are system ones and are needed for normal functioning operating system computer, that is, you should not change or delete them. However, there are exceptions everywhere, and sometimes you need to access a file that you don’t even see in the Finder, for example.htaccess for webmasters. All files whose names begin with a dot are hidden by default in Mac OS.
Some hidden files and folders are needed for the operation of the OS, and some are created by the operating system to speed up the processing and delivery of information to the user - they store information about how to display a particular folder and sort the files in it; reduced copies of photos (thumbs) for quick rendering, etc.
If for some reason you need to show hidden files in the Finder, here's an easy way to do it through the Terminal on Mac OS.
1. Open the Terminal program
First you need to open the program "Terminal", which is installed by default on every computer running Mac OS. To do this, in the Dock panel (the panel with programs, which is usually located at the bottom of the screen), open Finder (always the leftmost icon) and select “Programs” from the menu on the left. In the list of installed programs that appears, find the program "Terminal.app" and run it (there are other ways).
By the way, open any installed program much more is possible in a simple way- press buttons Ctrl + space and start typing the program name in the pop-up window. Doing this is much faster than searching the right application in the programs folder.
2. Turn on showing hidden files and folders
This item will be the last one if you only need to show hidden files and folders in Mac OS and leave everything like that. To do this, copy the following code
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
and paste it into the previously opened Terminal window using the keyboard shortcut cmd+V and press Enter. We recently talked about how to copy and paste text on Mac OS.
If you want to make one specific file/folder hidden, or vice versa, open, it will help you.
Attention! Be careful when changing or deleting hidden files - they are hidden from the average user for a reason. Most of them affect performance Mac systems OS, so you should only change them if you are sure of what you are doing and why.
Told about three free ways encrypt files and folders on macOS. Use it when you need to hide some photos or videos from prying eyes.
Encryption is the most reliable way to protect sensitive information. Encrypted files and folders cannot be opened or viewed without entering a password.
Now I will tell you about three ways to encrypt any photos, videos or documents:
- Creating encrypted folders through macOS Disk Utility;
- Creating an encrypted USB flash drive;
- Encrypt any files and folders using the Encrypto utility.
What is file encryption
Encryption is the conversion of a file using a specific algorithm. Such a file cannot be opened and viewed until you enter the decryption key. In our case the key is normal password, which you come up with when encrypting the file.
1. How to put a password on a folder
You can encrypt folders using standard means macOS. For this:
- Click File ▸ New image ▸ Image from folder... and select the folder you want to put a password on;
Creating an encrypted image (folder) through macOS Disk Utility - In the window that appears, specify the encryption algorithm 256 bit AES, as well as the image format Read/Write. The latter is necessary so that in the future you can add or remove files from the encrypted folder.
When you select an encryption algorithm, you will also be asked to enter a password.
Be sure to select “read/write” when creating the encrypted image. This way you can add new files to it - After a few seconds, the encrypted folder with the .dmg extension will appear next to the original folder. Double clicking on it will open a window for entering your password. And after entering it, it will mount the folder on the Desktop in the form of an external drive.
After entering the password, the encrypted image is mounted as an external drive - To add new files to an encrypted folder, click on it, enter the password, and then drag it into it necessary files. After that, right-click on the image and then “Extract”.
You can add any files to the encrypted image The advantage of this method is that encryption occurs through standard features macOS, so you can easily open your files on any other computer.
Please note that the protected folder does not replace the original one. Therefore, do not forget to delete the original and empty the trash. If you use the services Reserve copy like Time Machine, make sure you delete unencrypted files there too.
2. How to put a password on a flash drive
Sometimes you not only need to encrypt files, but also remove them away from your computer. In this case, it is more convenient to make an encrypted flash drive that will ask you to enter a password every time you connect to your Mac.
For this we also need Disk Utility:
- Open Programs ▸ Utilities ▸ Disk Utility;
- Select your drive on the right and click Erase;
- In chapter Format select APFS (encrypted);
- Enter the disk encryption password.
Create an encrypted USB flash drive using macOS Disk Utility An encrypted flash drive works exactly the same as a regular one, you just need to enter a password every time you connect it to your computer. If you accidentally lose such a flash drive, no one without a password will be able to view the contents.
3. How to put a password on a file or folder using Encrypto
Encrypting files using Encrypto is more convenient than using Disk Utility.
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The most reliable option for blocking files is, without a doubt, encryption.
Your encrypted file will not be accessible to ordinary users without knowing the password. The same fully applies to account password protected. However, you don’t always want to bother with setting and remembering passwords, especially if the information is not of interest to hackers; simply hiding it from prying eyes is quite enough. Now we will share with you several effective and operational means how to hide files on computers with .
Using Terminal to hide files and folders
Hiding files using the Terminal is the simplest and most efficient option. Follow these steps step by step:
- To launch the Terminal, the easiest way is to find it in the Spotlight search bar for the word “Terminal” or in the Finder, in the utilities section.
- Enter the command “chflags hidden”, click the space bar and drag it to open window Terminal file intended for hiding, then press Enter. Done, the information is hidden, goes into the Finder and viewing it will be possible only after performing the actions in the Terminal in the reverse order.
To cancel a previously hidden folder or file in the Terminal, enter “chflags nohidden” and a space, then manually follow the entire path to the file, or drag and drop the adjacent folder and change its name to avoid typing the entire path.
In the case when you hide a folder with a Russian-language name containing not one, but several words, then immediately after the first word the symbol is entered «\» . So, a folder named “Personal Correspondence” will look in the Terminal as “Personal \ correspondence". And be sure to remember or write down the names of the folders and files that you hide.
Using special programs to hide files
Of course, the proposed option is not perfect and is not entirely simple for some users, so you can also use applications developed specifically for Mac OS X by third-party developers. The Obscurity utility is perfect for solving this goal. , costs 59 rub. To install Obscurity, an image of the downloaded file is mounted, after which it is dragged into system folder programs.
It is Obscurity that will become the folder where the hidden files will be located. To move any information there, right-click on “Obscurity” and select the line to display content from the list. Your hidden files will be stored here.
At simple opening Obscurity, you won’t be able to find anything there; moreover, even when searching, they won’t be displayed. To be even more reliable, you can give the Obscurity folder some “underground” name or place functioning programs there.
Disk utility to encrypt files and folders
An alternative to hiding folders and files is encryption, which can be done using the Disk Utility that comes with OS X.
To find and open Disk Utility, use the Spotlight search bar or search for it in the Finder, under Utilities. Sequentially click File – New – Disk image from folder, select the folder and click the “Create image” button.
Protecting information or how to put a password on a folder in Mac OS X - necessary information for those who have something to store. This could be text or a password, a video file or folders with files that need to be protected from unauthorized access. To do this, Mac OSX provides the ability to set a password for folders with files and create text documents with password protection. First of all, we will talk about how to set a password for a folder in Mac OS, with the ability to add any files and documents.
In this case, the folder with the password will be a password-protected disk image. When you double-click, the password is entered in the window that appears, then the disk is “mounted” and appears on the desktop and on the left side of the Finder window. The folder (disk) size is set when it is created. To finish working with a password-protected folder, drag it to the Trash or on the left side of any Finder window, click on the arrow that appears next to the icon of the mounted disk. The information is closed until the next password is entered. The password cannot be recovered.
To create a mountable image, use the program Disk Utility(search through or drive C - Programs - Utilities - Disk Utility). The main functionality of the utility is working with hard drives and images, but in this moment a mounted image is created.
Select "New Image"...
We set any required size ourselves desired folder, in point "Encryption" choose 128-bit AES and press "Create". The image (folder) receives the extension *.dmg. This folder is installed exclusively on Mac computers OS X, but copes with its main task with a solid five.
The next method will be about creating a text editor in Mac OS with password access. In this case, run the program "A bunch of keys"(search through or disk C - Programs - Utilities - Keychain).
This is a collection of passwords, electronic keys, web certificates, etc., with the ability to create notes. Add new file and copy the desired text into the note, close it and everything is protected. The password is set on the program itself automatically. That is, the administrator password for your account is valid.
Another way to restrict access to a folder simpler option with a password-protected image, but it will also help only from children or a novice Macintosh user. Open the folder properties ( right button mouse/trackpad - properties or tap with two fingers on the trackpad and select properties.
At the very bottom of the window that opens, set access rights to the folder “Write only ( Mailbox)" and close the properties.
Now any computer user, when accessing a folder, will see a window indicating that they do not have rights to access the folder. At the same time, the folder easily accepts files. You can remove the restriction there, in the properties, by setting the access rights back to “Read and Write”.
It is quite enough to store everything you need from prying eyes. But at the same time, special attention must be paid to the passwords themselves, because, according to legend, only the Chinese were able to crack them, using a very powerful and expensive computer.
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Option 1
Using the program Terminal You can enable or disable the display of system and hidden files and folders in MAC OS X
Launch the Terminal program (located in Applications/Utilities/ or search for it using spotlight)
enter the command into the terminal window (the defaults write command makes changes to the settings files):
Defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
press "enter". This command will change Finder settings. For them to take effect, you need to restart the Finder process with the command:
Killall Finder
press enter.
Hidden files will now show up in Finder.
If after work you need to hide them, this is done with the same command, but with the false parameter
Defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false
And restart Finder again
Killall Finder
Option 2
If you have to work with hidden files quite regularly, you can use AppleScript to avoid opening the terminal. For this it is necessary to Open the AppleScript program and input the code in the editor window:
Set dialogResult to display dialog "Show hidden files..." buttons ("YES", "NO") copy the dialogResult as list to (buttonpressed) if buttonpressed = "YES" then do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true" else do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false" end if do shell script "killall Finder"
Then click the "Compile" button. And then save as application app or as a script, the app can be inserted into the dock or desktop.
If in the “save” mode it is not possible to choose in what form to save this script for displaying hidden files, you can use the “export” command in the file menu.
Option 3
Changing the visibility flag of an individual file. Particularly convenient for management separate files, for example.htaccess (does not always work, I will write about this file separately).
In the terminal, go to the folder with the file and execute the command
Chflags nohiddenFileName
Instead of the file name, the folder name can be used, for example the command:
Chflags nohidden ~/Library
Will make the hidden library folder visible, respectively the command
How to make a file or folder invisible (hidden) in OS X
This action is done by the same command chflags, but is used as a flag (sign) hidden , For example:
Chflags hidden ~/Library
Sets the sign hidden folder in Mac OS X. In this case, it is Library, located in the user folder
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