How to make .DS_Store files visible?

[HandyMac]

.DS_Store are invisible files that record settings for window appearance (and possibly other settings). They seem to be created when Show View Options ⌘J is used to customize a window. They're invisible because of the period at the front of the name. Used to be they were made visible when OnyX or another utility (or Terminal command) was used to make invisible files visible. Somewhere around 10.12 Sierra, Apple added a simple keyboard command ⌘⇧. (command-shift-period) to make invisible files visible. BUT at the same time, .DS_Store files were made super-invisible, so neither this command nor any utility I've found can make them visible. (Or they may no longer exist; I can't tell.) Does anybody know how to make .DS_Store files visible? Or if .DS_Store files no longer exist, is there something else that needs to be found and removed to reset a folder's appearance to default?

 

[mikzn]

Pressing Cmd-Shift+period - toggles visibility of hidden files in finder.

Edit - did not read / grasp your post

Yes - Sorry - the .DS_Store files are no longer visible - - not cool

 

[joevt]

The A flag of the ls command will include invisible files like .DS_Store in the listing.
ls -lA

The rm command can remove a file.
rm .DS_Store

Any change you make in the Finder window (such as adjusting the column width) will create a new .DS_Store file if it doesn't exist.

 

[Fishrrman]

If the .ds_Store files are no longer visible in finder (even if you choose the "command-shift-period" option to display invisible files), there's another way to see them.

Download "Pathfinder".
It has a free trial period that will be long enough for you to "do what you need to do".

You may have to see which version works for you.

There is a link to Pathfinder 7 here:

Glad I was able to revert back to Pathfinder 7, 8 is a huge step backward. If you need to do so, here's the link and instructions / Problems / Questions / Bug Reports / Discussion Area - Path Finder Support

Get support from Cocoatech's highly acclaimed Support Team.

support.cocoatech.com

Now...
If you open Pathfinder, there is an option to "show invisibles".
I just tried it on my 2018 Mini running Mojave.

The finder DOES NOT SHOW the .ds_Store files.
But Pathfinder DOES show them.

 

[HandyMac]

Thanks for your responses. I copied the folder whose .DS_Store file I wanted to see to a USB stick, and put it into my MacBook running 10.11 El Capitan; it definitely has a .DS_Store file in the folder. But I couldn't make it visible in either Sierra or Catalina, whether with OnyX, Terminal or ⌘⇧. I tried ls -lA, and it made a list in Terminal – whose use I don't understand – but didn't change visibility in the Finder.

I've heard that Pathfinder will do this, but don't like to run software I'm not going to actually use, because I know it will deposit little bits all over. I do have a few app uninstallers that are supposed to clean out such stuff, but a year or so ago I spent most of a day trying them out, and found that they all remove different things, but none seems to remove everything an app leaves behind.

Anyway, it's not life-or-death, so I guess I'll leave this question for now, maybe come back to it later. That Apple has made these files – and who knows what other items? – terminally invisible is just another of the growing pile of annoyances the company seems to delight in piling onto users. My first computer in 1988 was a Macintosh Plus; it was fun in those early years, when the people behind it really seemed to care about doing it well. But in recent years that caring seems to have drained away, and with it the fun.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I've heard that Pathfinder will do this, but don't like to run software I'm not going to actually use, because I know it will deposit little bits all over."

Pathfinder IS "the solution you need" for the problem you have.
I pointed the pathway forward for you.
Whether you choose to walk it or not...?

 

[gilby101]

I tried ls -lA, and it made a list in Terminal – whose use I don't understand – but didn't change visibility in the Finder.

It does not change Finder's behaviour. The purpose of ls -lA is to show all the files in the folder (including .DS_Store) in the Terminal window.

You can remove the .DS_Store file with the Terminal command rm. But Apple is really encouraging you not to delve that deep into macOS (some of us think it is fun!) and just enjoy what you have.