As Mac users, all of us have a utility or two or three that we seldom use, but when we need it, it’s got to work just right. Most of these little tools don’t cost much, and often they only do one thing. In the case of HideSwitch, that same ‘one thing’ can be found in half a dozen other Mac utility apps but each of those has dozens and dozens of options I seldom use, and mostly don’t need.
What does HideSwitch do?
Your Mac has many tens of thousands of files, most of which you can view within the Finder. Many system files cannot be viewed and that’s the way Apple wants it to be. But there are times when being able to view an invisible file has benefits.
Mac users can choose from nearly a dozen utility apps which unlock hidden features, including the one to make visible all those invisible or hidden files.
Or, you can enter a Terminal.app command and toggle back and forth between file visibility and invisibility.
Or, just use the HideSwitch to do just exactly the same thing, but easier, faster, and with less visual clutter. HideSwitch is a toggle app, so it toggles appropriately between file visibility and invisibility.
Click and you’ll see all the invisible or hidden files on your Mac. Click again and those same files become invisible again. They’re still on your Mac, still in the same place, but just not visible from the Mac’s Finder.
HideSwitch is much easier to use than a more complicated utility with more features than you’ll ever use, and faster than switching over to Terminal.app to perform the same task the command line way.
It just works and it’s free.
The only caveat is that HideSwitch isn’t on the Mac App Store and doesn’t use a developer certificate to overcome OS X’s built-in security. To allow it to work, open System Preferences, select the Security & Privacy pane, and click to Allow Apps Downloaded From Anywhere.
HideSwitch doesn’t do anything more than allow you to view invisible or hidden files and then hide them again, but Preferences give you options to check for updates, and to work with TotalFinder or ExtraFinder on your Mac.