Gorkee

As many of you Mac fans already know, there are many folders and files that the Mac Finder application does not show you.  For example, they like to hide standard UNIX files and folders.  I think there might also be the secret to life somewhere in there - I’m still searching and will let you know if I find it (yeah, right).  I am not sure why the Mac does this, but I blame the government.  Perhaps Mac wants to protect Users from themselves, which is just lame.  It’s not like we’re going to spill hot coffee on our computers, then sue Mac for our own stupidity.  Hmmm….  Okay, maybe they have a point.  But this is America!  So I say, "Let Freedom Ring!"  And let me at those hidden files!

So is there a way to access those hidden files from Finder?  Of course, there is.  Otherwise, why am I writing this?  And is it easy to implement?  Yes!

Before telling you the solution, however, I am going to pause here for dramatic suspense.  Also, I’d like to make another point before I reveal my secret.  One could argue, "Well, Gorkmeister you could always just "Go to Folder…" and type in the name of the folder you want to go to.  If you wanted to go to the log folder, you’d simply type in "/var/log".  However, that’s fiddly crap and you still don’t get to see those elusive and fascinating "dot" files (which are quite adept at hiding in the jungles of your computer, and which you may not even know are there).  So, for any serious session, it’s probably just easier to drop to the Terminal and see the files that way.

Except… There is a better solution that does not involve dropping to the Terminal (well, at least not after you type in this simple command from the Terminal).  Here she be:

Go to your Terminal application.  If you are unfamiliar with where this program is located, it can be found on most systems in /Applications/Utilities, named, "Terminal.app".  Did you find it?  Look harder.  Have you found it yet?  Finally!  Okay, now open it.  Once opened, type the following:

 Type this:  defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true

After you press Return/Enter you will have to relaunch Finder to see the results (or you can just reboot the machine, which is not as pleasurable as it sounds).  You can relaunch Finder by holding down <Option><Apple> and then pressing <Esc>.  Next, select Finder in the dialog box and press the button that says "Relaunch".  Your Finder will now display those hidden files and folders.  It’s like magic, only better.

Sometimes too much power can be scary.  If you come to the conclusion that the Mac looks very Unix-like and you don’t like this strange world, just type the following in the "Terminal.app" to return to your previous reality:

 Type this:  defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false

Well, now you know the secret.  If you wish hard enough for something, you’ll get it.  Wait, that’s not the secret.  The secret had something to do with viewing hidden files.  Anyway, I’m not sure why this isn’t an option in the Finder (you could just toggle it on/off).  Maybe in the next release of Finder?  We can only hope that Mac will trust us enough to allow us to screw up our own computers at our leisure.

Until next time, good look hunting for treasure, the meaning of life, and those hidden files, too!

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