Mac OS X: Folders With Names That Begin With a Dot Disappear From Finder

Symptom

The New Folder feature of Save and Save As dialogs allows you to create a folder name beginning with dot. This results in the folder being invisible in the Finder or on the desktop. It may seem as if the folder was not created.


Solution

Mac OS X reserves names beginning with the dot for system software items that are not intended to be visible in the Finder. Normally, an alert box with this message appears when you attempt to create a folder or file whose filename begins with a dot:

"You cannot use a name that begins with a dot ".", because these names are reserved for the system. Please choose another name."

However, the New Folder button is an exception to this rule. If you create a folder in this manner, its contents remain where you saved them, but you will not be able to see the folder in the Finder. You can remedy this by renaming the folder.

Pathname of the invisible folder

First, you must know the pathname of the folder. You can learn how to read and write a pathname with technical document 106419: "Mac OS: About Folders, Directories, and Pathnames"

If you named a folder ".myfolder" and saved it on your desktop, then the pathname would be:

~/Desktop/.myfolder

If you do not remember where you saved the folder, search on its name in Find or Sherlock.

Determining pathname with Finder Find (Mac OS X 10.2 or later)

Use Find to search for invisible items with the name you made in the search field. If you don't know how, see technical document 107005.


Determining pathname with Sherlock (Mac OS X 10.1.5 or earlier)

To find an invisible item in Sherlock, you must use the custom search.

1. Open Sherlock.
2. Click the hard disk icon to search your hard disk.
3. Click the radio button for Custom.
4. Click the Custom pop-up menu and choose edit.
5. Click the Advanced Options disclosure triangle.
6. In the bottom right corner, click to select the checkbox next to the pop-up menu that says either "invisible" or "visible."
7. Be sure the pop-up menu is set to "invisible."
8. Click OK.
9. Type the name of the folder you made in the search field, then click the magnifying glass icon.
10. In the Name column of the Sherlock results field, select the folder.
11. Look in the lower pane of the Sherlock window (Figure 1). This pane reveals the path in which the folder is located (Figure 1). Use this path to determine a pathname as given in the example above. Use the tilde (~) character to represent your Home directory so that you will only need type the part of the path beyond your user folder.

Figure 1 Path to ".myfolder" revealed in lower Sherlock pane

Revealing the invisible folder in the Finder

You can reveal an invisible folder in the Finder by using the pathname you determined with the Go to Folder command.

1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
2. Choose Go to Folder from the Go menu.
3. Type the pathname you determined in the last section.
4. Click Go.
5. Choose As Columns from the View menu. You should now see the formerly invisible folder in the Finder window.
6. Click to select the folder.
7. Choose Show Info from the File menu.
8. Choose Names & Extension from the pop-up menu in the Info window.
9. In the "File system name" field, type a new name that does not begin with a dot.
10. Press Return and close the Info window.
11. If the folder does not appear immediately, choose Log Out from the Apple menu and then log back in.