Welcome to the quick guide to using Hide Folders. In less than 5 minutes you will learn how to best use this handy app. Let's start right away!
How to use Hide Folders
When you launch Hide Folders an empty window will appear. You will be able to add files and folders into it by simply drag and drop them from the Finder, or by choosing the 'Add Items' menu item that can be found under the Edit menu. The items you see in the Hide Folders window are just alias of the original items present in your disk, not the original folders or files. The files and folders that are hidden with Hide Folders, remain in the same place they were in when they were visible, and they move when you move the folders that contain them and are also copied and deleted along with the folders that contain them.
Once you have items in the window you'll be able to hide them by selecting them and then clicking the Hide button in the toolbar or choosing the 'Hide Selected Items' menu item under the Edit menu. Hidden items icons will have a transparent look.
To make hidden items visible, select them and click the 'Show' button in the toolbar or choose the 'Show Selected Items' menu item under the Edit menu. To open items from the Hide Folders window make them visible first, then double click them just like you do in the Finder or alternatively choose the 'Open Selected Item' menu item under the File menu. To reveal items in the Finder from the Hide Folders window make them visible first, then choose the 'Reveal Selected Item' menu item under the File menu or use the contextual menu over the item.
Removing items from the Hide Folders window
The items you see in the window are just aliases of the original file or folder on disk. To remove an item from the Hide Folders window make it visible first, then press the delete key on keyboard and it will disappear. You can also use the contextual menu over the item. Removing an item from Hide Folders' window, doesn't affect in any way the original item on the disk.
Customize appearance
Customize the appearance of the app window is easy, just click on the grid icon at the bottom right of the window.
Choose between Icon view or List view
You can choose between Icons and List view in the selector button in left top pf the window.
Using menu and customize the behavior
Please note that all these menu items are replicated for convenience access in the Action menu (that one in the toolbar with a gear icon) and in the Contextual menu. You can also slightly customize the behavior of Hide Folders in the Preferences pane.
Hide Folder does not delete or make copies of your files and folders
Hide Folder does not delete or make copies of your files and folders, it just ”hides” them in place. To do so it uses standard macOS Finder functionalities to make items invisible to the user. This means that, even though you don't see them in the Finder, all your hidden files and folders are still there where you put them. This also means that if you make a copy of a folder containing hidden items they will be copied as well. If you delete a folder containing hidden items they will be deleted as well, they're gone forever unless you have a backup copy of that folder somewhere.
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