Mac Library Folder Not Visible In Finder

10.04.2020
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Finder
  1. Mac Library Folder Not Visible In Finder Windows 7
  2. Mac Library Folder Missing
  3. Mac Can't See Library Folder In Finder
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  5. Mac Library Folder Not Showing

Your Mac has a secret. Thousands of them in fact, in the form of hidden files and folders lurking on its hard drive or SSD. Don’t worry, though. These files and folders are all supposed to be there. In fact, many of them are essential.

I thought there was a checkbox to suppress the hiding of my user Library folder on Mavericks, but I can't seem to find it. I appreciate hiding Library by default, but since Lion have missed it being easily accessible. How can I get the library folder to be visible in Finder, the Finder go menus / file save dialogs without needing to hold down. How to view a Mac's /Library folder. There are three ways to easily view your hidden /Library/ folder. In macOS Sierra Apple added a Finder keyboard shortcut that makes it possible to quickly. Oct 28, 2013 This setting is permanent as long as the checkbox is active, it does not need to be toggled again repeatedly throughout OS X updates. If you decide you no longer want the /Library/ folder visible, simply uncheck the box in the Home directories ‘View Options’ panel to make it invisible again. In the View Options dialog box, check the box next to 'Show Library Folder' Additionally, one can access the User Library folder directly through using the Terminal: Access Spotlight Search by clicking the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of your screen (right side of menu bar) Type 'Terminal' Once the Terminal window appears, type. The Library folder there (/Library/) is shown (unhidden), and that is not the question. I would like to also always show the menu point 'Library' in the Finder menu under the word 'Go'. Normally it only shows when I hold the Option ⌥ key the menu is open. Jul 25, 2011 18 ways to view the /Library folder in Lion and Mountain Lion. But if you’ve been using Mac OS X for a while. Your Library folder will then be visible in the Finder, as well. May 17, 2012  Dragging the Library folder to your favorites list in the Finder unhides it. But there is a faster way to make the Library folder visible. For most Mac users, the Library folder remains out of.

Many of these files are in your Mac’s main Library folder or in the ~/Library folder, which is in your User folder. Both these Library folders are hidden, but inside them are folders and files that hold things like preferences for apps.

In this article, we’ll tell you how you can view hidden files on your Mac and make your Library folder visible.

What are the hidden files on Mac?

The hidden files are a throwback to macOS’ Unix roots. In fact, the convention of naming them starting with a “.” comes from Unix. For that reason, you can’t use a “.” at the start of a regular file name, otherwise OS X will hide it.

The files themselves contain data like access rights and privileges for files and folders, application support files, and preferences.

There are a number of reasons files and folders are hidden. Mostly, though, it’s because they contain data critical to the smooth running of your Mac and that you shouldn’t interfere with. In addition, there’s no real reason for most users to see or access them. Also, if they were all visible, your Mac would look horribly cluttered.

How to view hidden files on Mac

Before you make your Mac show hidden files, it’s important to remember they’ve been hidden for a reason. The data they contain could cause havoc if you delete or alter it and don’t know what you’re doing.

If your goal in viewing, for example ~/Library is so you can manually delete application support files for a program you’ve uninstalled, consider using a dedicated uninstaller like CleanMyMac X. That will make it easy to remove all the files associated with an application with one click. You can download CleanMyMac X for free here.

CleanMyMac X will also allow you to get rid of all the hidden files you no longer need. Many of these files are created and used then not needed anymore. They just sit there clogging up your hard drive. CleanMyMac X scans your Mac, identifies this system junk and allows you to quickly and easily get rid of it, potentially several gigabytes of disk space.

If you still want to view hidden files on your Mac, you need to go to the Finder and do the following:

  1. Open a new Finder window and click on the name of your Mac under ‘Devices’ in the sidebar.
  2. Click on Macintosh HD, or whatever you’ve called your startup drive if you’ve renamed it.
  3. Press Command-Shift-. (period). You should now see lots of files and folders who’s name starts with “.” become visible.
  4. To re-hide the files and folders, hold down Command-Shift-. again.

How to view your Mac’s ~/Library folder

There are a couple of methods for making your ~/Library folder visible. Here’s the simplest:

  1. Click on the Finder in the Dock.
  2. Open a new Finder window and navigate to your user folder (Tip: if it’s not in the sidebar, go to the Finder menu, choose Preferences, click Sidebar and check the box next to your Home folder)
  3. Click on the Go menu.
  4. Hold down the Option (Alt) key.
  5. You should see that in the dropdown menu, Library appears below Home. Click on it.

Alternatively, do this to view your Library folder:

  1. Click on the Finder in the Dock.
  2. Click on the Go menu and choose Go to Folder.
  3. In the window that opens, type “~/Library”

With both these methods, your Library folder will disappear again when you close the Finder window. It’s easy enough to run through the steps above again to make it visible again when you need to, but if you want it permanently accessible, there are a couple of ways to do it.

The quickest is to drag the Library folder to the Finder’s sidebar. That will create a shortcut to it that will persist. If you want to keep ~/Library visible but don’t want it clogging up the sidebar in Finder windows, do this:

  1. Click on the Finder in the Dock.
  2. Click on the View menu and choose Show View Options.
  3. Check the box labelled Show Library Folder at the bottom of the window.

How to make macOS show hidden files using Terminal

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can use the Terminal command line interface to view hidden files and folders. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open Terminal from the Utilities folder in Applications, or by searching for it using Spotlight. You can also use the Go menu in the Finder to go directly to the Utilities folder.
  2. Type, or copy and paste, this command: defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true
  3. Press Return
  4. Type: killall Finder

To hide the files again, repeat the above steps, but replace ‘true’ with ‘false’ at the end of step 2.

How to hide any file or folder using Terminal

Now that you know how to view hidden files and folders on your Mac, you may be wondering how you can hide other files or folders, to keep them away from prying eyes. There are a number of third-party applications and utilities that offer to do this for you, but you can do it yourself in Terminal, like this:

  1. Launch Terminal.
  2. Type: chflags hidden
  3. Press the spacebar.
  4. Drag the file or folder you want to hide from the Finder onto the Terminal window.
  5. You’ll see the path to the file or folder displayed in Terminal after the command you typed.
  6. Hit Return to execute the command.

The file or folder you dragged onto the Terminal window will now be hidden. To see it again, use one of the methods described above to see hidden files.

To make the file visible permanently again, use the steps above, but in step 2 type: chflags nohidden

As you can see, viewing hidden files and folders on your Mac is very straightforward. There are a number of ways to do it, and you can make them visible temporarily or permanently.

Mac Library Folder Not Visible In Finder

However, just because you can view hidden files, doesn’t mean you should — the files are usually hidden because accidentally deleting them or altering them could cause chaos on your Mac. So, while it’s fine to have a peek, don’t do anything with the hidden files unless you know what you’re doing.

If you want to declutter your Mac or uninstall applications, use a dedicated application like CleanMyMac X. It will safely remove all useless files, add-ons, broken login items, caches, large and old files you didn't know about. Most likely, you won't even need to look for hidden files — CleanMyMac will do all the job for you.

We also showed that many of those files are stored in Library folders, including the one in your User folder, ~/Library. That folder is hidden by default, but you can view it or make it permanently visible using the techniques described above.

These might also interest you:

The Library Menu item is hidden by default on Macs, to prevent the possibility of inexperienced users deleting important files in the Library Folder. In this article, you will find different methods to reveal the hidden Library Menu and access the Library Folder on your Mac.

Access Library Folder On Mac

The Library Folder on your Mac contains Preference Files, Caches, and Application Support Data.

While regular Mac users may not find the need to access the Hidden Library Folder, advanced Mac users will at times come across the need to access files inside the Library Folder for troubleshooting and other purposes.

One example of the need to access the Library Folder on Mac would be to rebuild the Database Files in the Library Folder, in order to fix Launchpad related issues like Apps Missing From Launchpad or deleted Apps showing up in the Launchpad.

Before going ahead with the steps to Access the Hidden Library Folder on your Mac, you need to be aware that ~/Library Folder contains important Data and Files related to Mac User Accounts.

Hence, make sure that you are accessing the Library Folder for a good reason and you do know as to what you are trying to achieve.

Access Hidden Library Menu Option On Mac

Follow the steps below to access the Hidden Library Menu option on your Mac.

1. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac. This will reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar of your Mac. You can also click on the Finder Icon in the Dock of your Mac to activate the Go Option.

2. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar of your Mac.

3. While you are still on the Go option, press and hold the Option key on your Mac and then click on the Library option that appears when you press down the Option Key.

Note: Press the Alt Key in case you are using a Windows keyboard with your Mac.

4. Clicking on the Library Menu option will take you straight to the Library Folder on your Mac.

Access Library Folder On Mac Using “Go to Folder” Option

Another way to access the Library Folder on your Mac is by using the Folder Option on your Mac.

1. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac to reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar. You can also click on the Finder Icon in the Dock of your Mac to activate the Go option.

2. Next, click on the Go option from the top menu-bar on your Mac and then click on Go to Folder… option in the drop-down menu (See image below).

3. In the search window that appears, type ~/Library, and click on the Go button.

This will immediately take you to the Library Folder on your Mac. Apple ical for windows 10.

Permanently Unhide the Library Menu Option On Mac

You can permanently unhide the Library Menu Option in the top-menu bar on your Mac by using the Terminal Command. The process is reversible and you can easily go back to the default hidden Library Menu Setting by using the Terminal command once again.

Add javamail library to classpath mac. The classpath tells Java where to look in the filesystem for files defining these classes.The virtual machine searches for and loads classes in this order:. Set CLASSPATH =D:myprogramjava org.mypackage.HelloWorldThe rule is that -classpath option, when used to start the java application, overrides the CLASSPATH environment variable. extension classes: that are in the extension directory of the or, jre/lib/ext/. user-defined packages and librariesBy default only the packages of the and extension packages are accessible without needing to set where to find them. bootstrap classes: the classes that are fundamental to the (comprising the public classes of the, and the private classes that are necessary for this library to be functional).

1. Click on the Finder icon in the dock of your Mac to activate the Go option in the top Menu bar of your Mac.

2. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar and then click on the Utilities option in the drop-down menu.

Mac Library Folder Not Visible In Finder Windows 7

3. On the Utilities window, open the Terminal App by clicking on it.

4. Next, type chflags nohidden ~/Library/ and Press the Enter key to submit your command for execution.

Mac Library Folder Missing

Once the command is executed, you will see the Library Option clearly visible and permanently unhidden in the top menu-bar of your Mac.

As mentioned above, you can always go back to the default hidden Library option on your Mac by executing a simple command in the Command Prompt Window.

Mac Can't See Library Folder In Finder

1. To hide the Library option, type chflags hidden ~/Library/ in the Command prompt window (See image below)

Mac Finder Not Working

2. After typing the Command, hit the Enter key on the Keyboard of your Mac to execute this Command.

Mac Library Folder Not Showing

Once the Command is executed, you will see the Library Menu option becoming hidden.