ARCHIVED: In Mac OS, how can I create or view invisible files and folders?

Note: For information about invisible files in Mac OS X, ARCHIVED: In Mac OS X, how do I view invisible files?

Warning: In many cases, programmers make files invisible on purpose. If you modify or move an invisible file, the program that uses it may not run properly.

You can use the following applications to locate, and in some cases modify, invisible files in Mac OS:

Find File utility and Sherlock

The Find File utility (Mac OS 7.5 through 8.1) and Sherlock (Mac OS 8.5 through 9.x) can locate invisible files, but cannot modify or create them. To locate a file, from the File menu, select Find.... Then, depending on what version of the software you have, do the following:

• For Sherlock 2 (Mac OS 9.x), in the Sherlock window, click the radio button next to Custom..., and then click Edit.... In the More Search Options window, under "Advanced Options", click the first checkbox for is invisible. To return to Sherlock, click the OK button, and then search to locate invisible files on your computer.
• For Sherlock (Mac OS 8.5 through 8.6), in the Sherlock window, click the Find by Content tab, and then hold down the Option key and click the left pop-up criteria menu. Select the Visibility option to choose to locate all invisible files on your computer.
• For the Find File utility, in the Find File window, hold down the Option key and click the left pop-up criteria menu. Select the Visibility option to choose to locate all invisible files on your computer.

ResEdit

You can use ResEdit to find and modify invisible files. Because it works only with files that have resource forks, ResEdit is probably not the best alternative to use with files that only have data forks, such as images or text files. Also, it can be used to modify applications, which means that you could accidentally ruin files and applications when using this utility. You can download this program at the mac.org web site.

To use ResEdit, start the program and locate the file or folder you want to make visible or invisible. ResEdit lists all of the files on your computer, so it is important that you find the correct file to edit. After opening the file, from the File menu, select Get Info for filename, where filename is the name of the file you are editing. A box will appear with information about the file. By selecting or deselecting the Invisible checkbox at the bottom, you will be able to make the file invisible or visible, respectively.

Snitch

A good shareware solution for locating invisible files is Snitch. Snitch is a control panel that modifies the information that appears in the Get Info file properties window. Once you have Snitch installed and activated, you can use it by single-clicking a file and, from the File menu, selecting Get Info. If Snitch isn't immediately apparent when the Get Info window appears, click the right arrow at the top right of the Get Info window. You will be able to make the file invisible by clicking the box next to Invisible. Snitch can also make all the files within a folder visible, making it easy to locate and modify invisible files.

You can download Snitch from Nifty Neato Software.

Other solutions

There are numerous other programs available that you can use to modify, make, and find invisible files. Some allow you to make files invisible and add password protection to them. Others allow you to search and find all invisible files on a hard disk. Many of these are shareware applications, and you can find them in any Macintosh software archive.