In Mac OS X, the Finder doesn’t display hidden files and folders (directories) by default. But sometimes it's required to operate with the hidden files and folders. Finder is able to do that.
On Mac OS X (and Unix systems) directories (folders) or files are hidden by adding a '.' (dot) in front of their names.
To make the Finder display hidden files and directories, open a Terminal window and enter these commands:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
killall Finder
To revert the change enter these commands:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false
killall Finder
More convenient is this AppleScript which toggles the show / hide setting:
try
-- get current Finder setting
set currentSetting to do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles"
-- toggle current Finder setting (-bool[ean] (true | false | yes | no))
if (currentSetting = "1") then
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false"
else
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true"
end if
on error
-- error handling (e.g. "AppleShowAllFiles" not defined)
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true"
end try
-- restart Finder
do shell script "killall Finder"
 |
I have saved the above script as executable application - so you only have to click the icon. The application icon is a vertically flipped "golden" Finder icon - so it looks like a 't' for toggle. |
Download: ToggleFinder.zip