I did a clean install of Catalina today. command+shift+period doesn't work. What could be the problem?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15
That's surprising. Did you try the terminal command? I just noticed the post I referenced, there's a type-o. The initial command is setting "FALSE" which means "don't show all files." Apparently "com.apple.Finder" shouldn't be capitalized either.
Try entering this in Terminal and see what it says. This will check whether "show all files" is on or off.
defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles
1=hidden files should be shown; 0=don't show hidden files.
I tested this command and it changes the hidden files setting for me. Open Terminal and enter (You can triple click on the text below to copy it and then paste into terminal):
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true; killall Finder
Then open a new window in Finder. Note that not all folders have hidden files to see...
Agreed, with rcosta887, I’d get it checked out to be sure, these things can take time to isolate a cause, but considering the symptoms I’d say it’s a good idea to get it checked out.
Tried. Not working
Command+R doesn't work on startup, so I had to use external keyboard.
Command+R is not working on boot up. I had done macOS reinstall last week.
I suggest testing it using the on-screen display Keyboard Viewer. If you add a 2nd keyboard layout type in Keyboard Preferences in addition to your British and have "Show Input menu in menu bar" ticked you'll get a flag up by your clock where you can select your keyboard layout and also choose to turn on the on-screen display Keyboard Viewer.
With both US and British keyboard layouts the OSD Keyboard Viewer works fine for doing the Command-Shift-Period to toggle the hidden files. I'll be curious if that works for you. (just click command, then shift, then period on the OSD keyboard while having your Finder set to your Home folder, for example).
sumaise Said:
"How to show hidden files in catalina: I did a clean install of Catalina today. command+shift+period doesn't work. What could be the problem? [...] The terminal command works. Thanks. But I still don't know why the command+shift+period doesn't work. It used to work earlier. After the last update it stopped working."
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I. Reset the SMC and your NVRAM:
What it could be is the power management settings. Sometimes when changes are made to the system(i.e. updates), system configurations (i.e. for boot and for keys) become manipulated, technically. So, reset the SMC and NVRAM. Your power adapter may not be being seen promptly by the ports, or your battery may not be charging affectively. By reseting these, all of the ports and keys would be configured to how they should be.
II. Perform this Thrice:
Note that you may need to perform each thrice. This can be time consuming, to be certain you have the time to do so.
Command+Shift+. and Command+R to boot in recovery mode, both didn't work with in-built keyboard. With the external keyboard both works, but have to do restart and then press Command+R with external keyboard as external keyboard is not detected on shut down and then boot.
With the inbuilt keyboard Command(right)+shift(left)+. works for toggling hidden files.
shift(right)+. for > doesn't work. but shift(left)+. for > works.
Command(left)+. doesn't register (check in onscreen keyboard). but Command(right)+. registers.
For reinstalling(3 times in last two weeks) MacOS, used a USB drive.
All the methods suggested in this thread didn't work for me. May be the keyboard is faulty.
The terminal command works. Thanks.
But I still don't know why the command+shift+period doesn't work. It used to work earlier. After the last update it stopped working.
How to show hidden files in catalina
