Can't show hidden files mac

I assume that you have an extended keyboard. If so, try pressing the Command + Shift + fn + Period keys.

Try using the shareware app Find Any File to search for hidden folders:

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.  

Another thing you an do to try to fix your problem with the keystroke is to boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

Even better

/bin/ls  -laeO  $HOME/Documents/

If the hidden flag is set, the above will show the flags.

And any file that begins with a period, will be hidden (long Unix tradition)

The following is an example of files with the hidden flag set, plus the files with leading periods:

/bin/ls  -laeO  /
total 12
drwxr-xr-x  20 root  wheel  sunlnk             640 Apr  4 03:24 .
drwxr-xr-x  20 root  wheel  sunlnk             640 Apr  4 03:24 ..
lrwxr-xr-x   1 root  admin  -                   36 Apr  4 03:24 .VolumeIcon.icns -> System/Volumes/Data/.VolumeIcon.icns
----------   1 root  admin  -                    0 Apr  4 03:24 .file
drwxr-xr-x   2 root  wheel  hidden              64 Apr  4 03:24 .vol
drwxrwxr-x  74 root  admin  sunlnk            2368 May  5 20:12 Applications
drwxr-xr-x  72 root  wheel  sunlnk            2304 Apr 15 12:09 Library
drwxr-xr-x@  9 root  wheel  restricted         288 Apr  4 03:24 System
drwxr-xr-x   8 root  admin  sunlnk             256 Apr  4 03:24 Users
drwxr-xr-x  12 root  wheel  hidden             384 May 11 16:10 Volumes
drwxr-xr-x@ 38 root  wheel  restricted,hidden 1216 Apr  4 03:24 bin
drwxr-xr-x   2 root  wheel  hidden              64 Dec  7  2021 cores
dr-xr-xr-x   4 root  wheel  hidden            5823 Apr 15 12:10 dev
lrwxr-xr-x@  1 root  wheel  restricted,hidden   11 Apr  4 03:24 etc -> private/etc
lrwxr-xr-x   1 root  wheel  hidden              25 Apr 15 12:10 home -> /System/Volumes/Data/home
drwxr-xr-x   8 root  wheel  hidden             256 Nov 19 11:33 opt
drwxr-xr-x   6 root  wheel  sunlnk,hidden      192 Apr 15 12:10 private
drwxr-xr-x@ 65 root  wheel  restricted,hidden 2080 Apr  4 03:24 sbin
lrwxr-xr-x@  1 root  wheel  restricted,hidden   11 Apr  4 03:24 tmp -> private/tmp
drwxr-xr-x@ 11 root  wheel  restricted,hidden  352 Apr  4 03:24 usr
lrwxr-xr-x@  1 root  wheel  restricted,hidden   11 Apr  4 03:24 var -> private/var

And here is what the Finder shows for the same directory

mkdir777 wrote:

but when I do this in my Document folder, no hidden files are shown

Are you certain there are actually hidden files within that folder? On my Mac, the only hidden items within the Documents folder are some temp files from TextEdit.

Have you tried using the command line to compare the results with the Finder?

ls  -hal  $HOME/Documents

Hidden files are hidden for a good reason. Generally, they should not be messed with. Why is this an issue?