#Mac view hidden files on desktop how to#

The real reason that Apple set some files and folders hidden by default is that there is a risk to the system if you delete or modify these folders and files. System folders like /private, /bin, /etc, /usr are also hidden by default. All kinds of files could be hidden files, such as a. In Unix, there is always a “.” in front of hidden file names and they won’t be displayed until you manually change the system to view hidden files. MacOS has almost the same contents as UNIX but the macOS has a “desktop environment” which helped it become the world’s second most popular operating system.

#Mac view hidden files on desktop how to#

However, if you don’t know how to do show hidden files and folders, you won’t be able to deal with these issues.įirst, let me tell you what files are hidden and why are they hidden on your Mac.īoth macOS and linux are based on the UNIX operating system. Some hidden files also take up a lot of space on your hard disk. Some experienced or advanced users know that when you have a problem with an app, you might need to remove a preference file or find logs to help you fix the problem. In this case, you should learn how to show hidden files and folders. Sometimes just out of curiosity or perhaps to locate some hidden folder for troubleshooting purposes. However, there may be occasions where you need to locate certain hidden files. You might not know it, but there are thousands of hidden files and folders on your computer that you shouldn’t disturb or modify. There are many reasons why you might want to look at hidden files or folders on your Mac.