How to Make Folders Hidden?

[Heb1228]

This seems like it should be a fairly easy thing to do, but I haven't been able to figure out a way to do it. There are some folders I would like to not show up in Finder when I'm looking in that folder. Here's the specific example...

Some apps make unwanted folders in the "Documents" folder of my home directory. Some examples are "Microsoft User Data" and "Incomplete." I don't want to delete these folders in case there's data in them that is needed at some point, but I don't want to see them in my Documents either. Actually deleting them does no good because next time you run the app, it recreates the same folder.

Is there a way to simply make the folder hidden so I can't see it in Finder?

 

[Heb1228]

I've dorked around with OS X enough that I figured terminal may be the only way to do it.

Will adding the "." before the file name still allow the app that created to folder to use it in the same way as without the "."? I didn't know if this would be akin to changing the file name. Sorry for my UNIX ignorance.

 

[Heb1228]

what the heck? i could have sworn there was a post by risc up before I posted that last comment?!?!? Twilight zone here on MR or am I going nuts?

 

[balamw]

I didn't know if this would be akin to changing the file name. Sorry for my UNIX ignorance.

This is changing the filename, so the apps that created the folders won't know you moved them and will probably just recereate them using the original unhidden name.

B

 

[wPod]

seems like terminal is the only way to do it. if you change a file to a .whatever just in finder it says "you can not use a name that begins with a . " . . . so terminal seems like the way to do it

 

[Heb1228]

This is changing the filename, so the apps that created the folders won't know you moved them and will probably just recereate them using the original unhidden name.

B

Ahh I see. So this idea doesn't seem to be the answer to my problem... anyone else have any ideas?

I suppose I could create a Smart Folder version of the Documents Folder and tell it to exclude those unwanted folders... but then I can't save anything directly into the folder without re-navigating back to the real "Documents" folder. Sorry I was just thinking out loud. Any more ideas?

 

[risc]

Ahh I see. So this idea doesn't seem to be the answer to my problem... anyone else have any ideas?

Yeah all I saw was make invisible, then I went back and read what you actually said properly. So I deleted my response.

 

[ElectricSheep]

You will need to install the Developer Tools and use the SetFile command-line tool to change the visibility attribute of the folder.

/Developer/Tools/SetFile -a V [folder]

 

[Heb1228]

Very nice ElectricSheep. Worked perfectly. Appreciate the help.