22
Jul
08
Tagged Under: ,
Hiding Folders

Hey

A while ago I mentioned about a method of hiding folders by making a folder into a dot folder. Dot folders are by default hidden on a Mac, since they are usually represented by being system files and folders. Making the directories and then moving files and folders is a bit difficult and long winded. Especially if you have a folder with hundreds of files inside of it. This method is going to use the actual method used by your system. It involved changing the folder and file flags.

If you open up Terminal and change directory to the folder you want to hide resides in. Then type the following:

chflags hidden ./folder

That will hide the folder and it will be gone from Finder. You wont be able to see it. If you want to get it back you can use the following.

chflags nohidden ./folder

The folder will then return to its normal state. I think this method is a lot simpler than chaning it into a dot folder. As well as this it will also retain any aliases and other features such as histories and Time Machine backups intact.

If you want to open the hidden folder. Type in Terminal again

open ./folder

The folder will then open in Finder. Alternatively you can use the Go To Folder command in Finder to achieve the same thing.

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2 Responses


  1. 1

    i tried using this tip, but it does not seem to work for me. how do you change the directory? can you give a detailed step-by-step explanation of what you enter into Terminal? Thanks!

    Comment By gabe on July 23rd, at 2:07 pm
  2. 2

    Ok. In Terminal type:

    cd ~/Desktop

    The folder you want to hide must be in the desktop folder. You can change the command to anything you want. Then type.

    chflags hidden ./folder

    That will hide the folder named “folder” in your Desktop folder.

    Its that simple. I hope this helps.

    Comment By admin on July 23rd, at 2:11 pm

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