How to Show Hidden Files on a Mac

"I've saved some important files on my Mac disk and hidden them on the computer to prevent accidental deletion. Now I need to access some of these hidden files. So, do you have any simple methods that can help me view and locate these hidden files on my Mac?"

Recently, we've received queries from users asking if it's possible to view hidden files on a Mac hard drive. The answer is yes. You can display hidden files on your Mac computer's hard drive or external storage device using the methods provided.

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If you're using Windows, refer to the guide on retrieving hidden files on PC to display hidden files on your Windows computer.

Method 1: Show Hidden Files with Keyboard Shortcuts

This method teaches you how to use your Mac keyboard to quickly find hidden files. Here's how.

Step 1: Open a new Finder window and click your Mac's name in the sidebar.

Click “System Preferences,” then hold down Command(⌘) + Shift + . to show or hide hidden files in Finder.

Step 3: To hide the hidden folder again, press Command + Shift + . again.

Method 2: View Hidden Files and Folders on a Mac with Terminal

In addition to using the keyboard shortcut, you can also view hidden files and folders on your Mac from the command line in Terminal. Here's how:

Step 1: Open the Terminal application from the Dock.

Step 2: Copy and paste the following command into your terminal window:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true

Step 3: Restart the Finder with the command killall Finder.

Then, you'll be able to see all hidden files and folders in Finder.

Method 3: Recover Lost Files with a Mac Data Recovery Software

In some cases, files might get hidden due to virus attacks or OS failures. In such scenarios, you might need the assistance of third-party data recovery software to get your files back. For this purpose, we recommend using the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool. This utility enables you to find and recover all hidden files on your Mac or external storage devices. Here are some impressive features of the Data Recovery Wizard tool:

- Recover lost data due to emptying the recycle bin, accidental deletion, or other reasons. - Support for repairing corrupted Word, Excel, and PDF files during the recovery process. - A simple three-step recovery process for ease of use. - Preview all recoverable files for user convenience.

As mentioned above, this method requires no special knowledge and can be used both by experienced Mac users and novices. If you have lost files on your Mac, download and install this software to give it a try.

Note: If your hidden files are less than 2 GB, you can use Disk Drill for Mac Free. This free file recovery software won't cost you a dime.

Step 1: Search for the Lost File

On macOS Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, and the latest Sonoma, choose the disk location where you want to search for the lost file (it can be either an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device). Then, click the "Search for Lost Files" button.

Note: Before data recovery, it's better to click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar to create a backup of your Mac to prevent further data loss. After the backup, the software can recover data from the Mac backup and your computer can write new data again.

Step 2: Browse the scan results

Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will scan the disk volume you select immediately and display the scanning results.

Step 3: Select the files and recover them

In the scan results, select the files you want to preview and click the "Recover" button to get them back.

Why do files suddenly disappear on my Mac?

Sometimes, users find their Mac files disappeared, but usually, they don't know the reason. Here, we've listed the most common causes that lead to missing files on your Mac or external hard drive.

1. Accidental deletion

There may be times when you accidentally delete a file without noticing. Usually, if you didn't empty the Recycle Bin, you can find and restore deleted files from there.

2. Hidden by the system

In some cases, the files might be hidden by your operating system, so you don't see them on your external hard drive. This could be because you accidentally hid the files, or because your system hides sensitive files by default to keep things tidy.

File system error.

Files not showing up on an external hard drive could be due to a corrupted file system on the disk. Thus, your computer system is unable to access your file entries or display the files.

4. Viral attack.

Your Mac or external hard drive might be infected with a virus, or you could have been hit by malware that hides, deletes, or encrypts files on your drive. You can try to remove a virus from your Mac to fix this issue.

Conclusions

Here's all the information you need to display hidden files on your Mac. Whether your files are missing or have been hidden by the system, you'll find the steps to recover them in this guide. Just be careful with hidden files – if you don't know what you're doing, you can cause serious damage quickly.