Hide files and folders without renaming

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This tip will show you how you can hide files and folders without changing the folder or file name using a simple text file. This tip works for all file managers!

First you need to open your personal directory in a filemanager. When the filemanager is opened, follow the steps below:

• • Press Ctrl+H to view all hidden files and folders

  • Right click on an empty spot and select Create new document

  • Name this new document .hidden

  • Now open this file in a text editor

  • In this file, add the folders and files you want to hide. Make sure you add the names of the files and folders per line 

  • Save and close the file

Depending on the filemanager some file managers the home directory only needs to be refreshed pressing F5 while other filemanager, like Thunar for instance, will be refreshed when navigating to another directory and then go back to the home directory. After refreshing, the files and folders placed in the .hidden file should no longer be visible but hidden.

As example:

Let's assume you have a folder called FOLDER-1 in your home directory and this folder needs to be hidden. All you need to do is add the folder name in the file .hidden and refresh the view to see that FOLDER-1 is no longer displayed.