Toggling the hidden files keyboard shortcut will impact all folders on the Mac.
Navigate anywhere in the Mac Finder and hit Command + Shift + Period again to hide invisible files. How to Hide Hidden Files on Mac with Keyboard ShortcutĪnd of course you can quickly toggle to hide the hidden files again and make them no longer visible by using the same keyboard shortcut: If you prefer the command line approach for whatever reason, it is still available to modern Mac OS releases. The big difference between modern Mac OS releases and earlier versions of system software is that now the Command + Shift + Period keyboard shortcut is available to show and hide invisible items in the Finder, whereas before you had to use the defaults write command in the Terminal to reveal or hide those files and folders. Note that with hidden files made visible, they will become visible in all folders on the Mac, just like what happens if you use the defaults command to show hidden files in Mac OS and Mac OS X. The now visible hidden files will be displayed as having slightly faded names and icons, to offer a visual indicator that the file or folder in question is usually hidden. period as a name prefix, will instantly become visible. The hidden files and folders, often marked as hidden via chflags command, setfiles, or by placing a. Here is an example of what the Macintosh HD directory looks like after hidden files are made visible, and after hidden files are made invisible again, this is demonstrated in animated GIF format so that you can see the hidden files appearing and disappearing:Īs you can see the hidden files and folders become visible and invisible as the keyboard shortcut is pressed. Now press Command + Shift + Period to instantly toggle to show hidden files. From the Finder of Mac OS, navigate to any folder where there might be hidden files (for example, the Macintosh HD root directory, or a user Home folder). Using the Show Hidden Files Keyboard Shortcut is incredibly simple, here’s how it works: How to Show Hidden Files on Mac with a Keyboard Shortcut Thus, revealing hidden files is usually only necessary for more advanced Mac users, whether it’s to view, edit, or modify some particular invisible file or folder, or contents therein. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, hidden files and hidden folders on a Mac are typically either system level items, configuration data, or some other file or folder which is usually hidden from the average end user for a reason.
To use the hidden files keyboard shortcut, you’ll need a modern version of Mac OS system software, including macOS Mojave, High Sierra, and macOS Sierra, anything beyond 10.12 should support the invisible files toggle keyboard shortcut.