To view hidden files in Terminal, follow the steps below:



Important Note!: Only use these steps if you feel confident using the Terminal. Otherwise, contact your system administrator to do this for you)




  1. Launch the Terminal application (Application>Utlities> Terminal).

  2. Type the following line in Terminal show all files:



    defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

  3. Relaunch the Finder.

  4. To hide all the files in the file system, type the following line in Terminal:



    defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles No

  5. Relaunch the Finder.



Background:

The Terminal is an application in Mac OS X that allows you to work with the Unix subsystem that forms the core of the Mac operating system.