Hidden Files in OSX
Ever have a drive that is showing more space used then the files represented on the drive? Or, just know intrinsically that there are hidden files on the disk? Here is how to view the hidden files, and should you want, unhide them.
***Please note that this will work for external disks / flash drives that are formatted FAT-32 or ExFAT as well; Windows hidden files.
First, to VIEW HIDDEN FILES on OSX simply launch the Terminal.app and run the following commands:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
To reverse this process later, do:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
Now, to REMOVE THE HIDDEN ATTRIBUTE, again launch the Terminal.app and enter these commands
chflags nohidden /path/to/file ***To remove the hidden attribute on just one file
chflags -Rf nohidden /path/to/starting/directory ***To recursively remove the hidden attribute on all files and folders contained with the directory specified
Disclaimer: You will want to be careful what files you remove when viewing hidden files. There are .Spotlight, .Trashes, and other files that are used by OSX and you might break functionality by removing them.
***Please note that this will work for external disks / flash drives that are formatted FAT-32 or ExFAT as well; Windows hidden files.
First, to VIEW HIDDEN FILES on OSX simply launch the Terminal.app and run the following commands:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
To reverse this process later, do:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
Now, to REMOVE THE HIDDEN ATTRIBUTE, again launch the Terminal.app and enter these commands
chflags nohidden /path/to/file ***To remove the hidden attribute on just one file
chflags -Rf nohidden /path/to/starting/directory ***To recursively remove the hidden attribute on all files and folders contained with the directory specified
Disclaimer: You will want to be careful what files you remove when viewing hidden files. There are .Spotlight, .Trashes, and other files that are used by OSX and you might break functionality by removing them.
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