How To Hide or Show Individual File Extensions On Mac
How To Hide or Show Individual File Extensions On Mac
Most files that are on your Mac have a file extension at the end of their name will help people and also help the apps to identify what type of file it is. By default, these extensions are hidden by macOS, but it is possible that you can show or hide them on a file-by-file basis. Here’s how.
First Know About the Master Switch
Before you try to hide or you try to show the individual file extensions, you should know if the Finder is configured to show or to hide all file extensions that is on your Mac.
1. To check, just go to the Finder and then select “Finder” > “Preferences” in the menu bar. Now you'll click “Advanced,” then notice if the “Show all file extensions” is checked or unchecked.
2. In Advanced Finder Preferences, now place a check mark beside "Show all filename extensions."
3. If “Show all filename extensions” is then checked, you will then see all extensions filename by default. There is no way you can override this setting on individual files.
4. If “Show all filename extensions” is unchecked, this preference can possibly be override and then you will see the extensions on an individual, file-by-file basis, which we will talk about in the next section below.
5. Regardless of the “Show all filename extensions” setting, it seems that files which are saved to the “Downloads” folder will always have their own extension displayed. It is still possible to hide these extensions individually just by making use of the method below if the “Show all filename extensions” is disabled. This is a likely conscious security feature by Apple.
How to Show or Hide Your Extensions on Specific Files
Here’s how you can show or hide an individual file extension if “Show all filename extensions” is disabled in the Finder.
1. First, you'll have to locate the file extension you’d like to show or you want to hide in a Finder window. Select the file, then you choose “File” > “Get Info” from the menu bar. (Or you can press on your keyboard the Command+i.)
2. In the menu bar, click "File" then select "Get Info" from the menu.
3. When you see the “Get Info” window pop up, you scroll down until you can view the “Name & Extension” section. (just click on the carat that is beside the header to expand it, that's if necessary.) Then you can check or uncheck “Hide extension.” If you have unchecked it, the extension will be visible. If you have checked, you'll notice that the extension will be hidden.
4. In the file's Get Info window, you will check or uncheck the "Hide extension."
5. If checking or unchecking “Hide extension” has done no effect, then it’s likely that the “Show all filename extensions” is enabled in the Finder. To see that option, you can go back to the section above. When you’re done with that, close the file Info window. Repeat process as necessary for any files whose extension you would like to see.
Note: When you rename a file or folder, don’t try to change its filename extension, or you may no longer have access to open the file with the app that was used in creating it. To activate a warning signal before you change an extension, select “Show warning" before changing an extension” in the Advanced pane of the Finder preferences.
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