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Show hidden files not working in Mavericks
- Thread starter BlueGummiBear
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It worked using TRUE / FALSE for me, but I had to use a lowercase "f" in "com.apple.finder" to make it work.
There's something really not right here. I have tried every permutation in this thread (and I'm paying very close attention to capitalization). I cannot for the life of me get hidden files to show under any circumstances. This is on a late 2013 iMac that shipped with Mountain Lion and was updated to Mavericks.
I'm not a guru but also not a terminal newb. I'm restarting Finder after each try and nothing is working.
I think there's more to this problem than meets the eye.
UPDATE: I've also just downloaded the OnyX app for Mavericks and tried to make it show the hidden files. Also doesn't work.
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Could be that something is wrong with your com.apple.finder file
What's listed when you type
Code:
defaults [I][COLOR="Red"]read[/COLOR][/I] com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFilesIf I recall right 0 is off(false) and 1 is on(true).
I think you've hit upon the problem here.
The iMac I bought only has a 256 GB SSD, so I moved my home folder over to a Thunderbolt drive.
When I type defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles, I get the following:
2013-11-27 14:00:48.627 defaults[849:507]
The domain/default pair of (/Volumes/Storage HD/Users/matthewcathell/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder, AppleShowAllFiles) does not exist
The domain/default pair of (/Volumes/Storage HD/Users/matthewcathell/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder, AppleShowAllFiles) does not exist
Easy fix, right? Can someone help me get a clue?
Hard for me to say as I've never moved my home folder off the boot volume.
I'd just assume that the AppleShowAllFiles key doesn't exist but it should be written when you do a write.
Could be a permissions issue or something to do with the moved home folder.
To check if it's a permissions issue, what's the output of
Code:
ls -al /Volumes/Storage\ HD/Users/matthewcathell/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finderls: /Volumes/Storage HD/Users/matthewcathell/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder: No such file or directory
Okay well it sounds like it just doesn't exist for some reason
How about line by line in one term window:
Code:
cd /Volumes/Storage\ HD/Users/matthewcathell/Library/Preferences/
touch com.apple.finder
chmod 755 com.apple.finder
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true
killall FinderProbably doesn't need the chmod 755 but I'm not on osx right now and can't check the permissions of my file.
Also just a general note to everyone you don't need to relaunch finder to see hidden files in Mav. Just open an new finder window/tab(or refresh the current view) and hidden files will show.
No dice, I'm afraid.
Just for fun, I logged into the Guest user account (which is still located on the Boot drive). Of course the hidden file terminal command worked just fine there.
I'll also add that when I moved my home folder onto the Thunderbolt drive, I used instruction like these to choose the Home directory location through the System Preferences Users & Groups window.
Sooooo... the whole reason I needed to see hidden files was because I was installing Mavericks on my unsupported Mac Pro 1,1 and needed to do some editing to the USB Mavericks installer. I ended up doing that on one of my other machines. The Mac Pro is now running Mavericks, beautifully I might add (and the people rejoiced).
The immediate need for seeing hidden files on my iMac is now gone. However, I am a little concerned that this seemingly simple terminal command doesn't work. It makes me fear that there might be other hidden issues that haven't manifested themselves yet. Should I worry?
Nope, I wouldn't worry.
As a last test to get it working you could just try copying the file from the guest accounts preferences fold to your preferences folder.
Thank you for all the help.
Here's the resolution that I've come up with:
From a bunch of reading from Apple discussion boards and elsewhere, I found that moving the Home folder off the boot drive (even doing it the "correct" way) seems to often lead to unexpected behaviors. I just don't want to mess with any of that.
So, what I did was move my Home folder back to the boot drive, but I didn't move every single subfolder back. I kept some key folders (like Documents, Movies, Pictures, Dropbox, etc.) on the Thunderbolt drive. I then just set up symbolic links to those folders within Home.
Seems like this is the best of both worlds solution for me. I get to keep all the bulky stuff off my SSD and on my Thunderbolt, but I get to keep the Home Library folder on the boot drive.
Everything seems to be working smoothly and the terminal command to show hidden folders now works just as intended.
Best app for this prob
Linuxgeek, who built the one we all used before 10.9 has rebuilt it for us for use in Mavericks. Worked instantly for me. Sophos showed no abnormalities in the file.
http://resources.benowashs.eq.edu.au/home/tjone270/FinderRevealer.zip
Linuxgeek, who built the one we all used before 10.9 has rebuilt it for us for use in Mavericks. Worked instantly for me. Sophos showed no abnormalities in the file.
http://resources.benowashs.eq.edu.au/home/tjone270/FinderRevealer.zip
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'Re-hide' files?
Hello,
I'm kind of a newbie and the need for me to see my hidden files is now gone so I'd like to re-hide them. I tried disabling the shell script in automator and restarting but that didn't work. What do I need to do in order to re-hide all of the hidden files?
Thanks!
Robbie
Hello,
I'm kind of a newbie and the need for me to see my hidden files is now gone so I'd like to re-hide them. I tried disabling the shell script in automator and restarting but that didn't work. What do I need to do in order to re-hide all of the hidden files?
Thanks!
Robbie
Thanks for posting that, this is what was happening to me, and you saved me a lot of time! Thanks!