Hiding Folders 6
Terminal
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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Where To Next?
6 Responses to “Hiding Folders”
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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
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2
Ok. In Terminal type:
cd ~/DesktopThe folder you want to hide must be in the desktop folder. You can change the command to anything you want. Then type.
chflags hidden ./folderThat 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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3
This doesn’t seem to work for me, everything I type the chflags ./folder (i named the folder folder) it comes up with
chflags: invalid flag: hiddencould you see what the problem is?
I’ve already put the folder in desktop and changed the directory to desktop as well.Comment By JK on September 30th, at 4:39 pm
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4
You need to include the “hidden” part of the syntax otherwise it will not work.
If you could post more detailed information if that doesn’t work it would help a lot.
Comment By admin on September 30th, at 5:06 pm
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5
It hasn’t been noted here, but the “hidden” command doesn’t exist in chflags under Tiger. It does in Leopard, though…
Comment By Squid on May 31st, at 9:07 am
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6
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Comment By Rosanna Goolman on June 15th, at 3:54 pm