Finding hidden files
Finding hidden files |
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If you have just gotten an account, and you have not created
any of your own files yet, the ls command
will not produce any output. This might make it seem that you
have no files.
However, there are a number of files present even in a brand-new account. They are said to be hidden files because their names start with a period.
To see these hidden files, enter the command
ls -a. Here is an example:
% ls -a
.Xdefaults .cshrc .login
This output lists three hidden files named .Xdefaults,
.cshrc, and .login.
Such files are placed in your account either when it is created
or when you first use certain programs. The files contain information
about customization of your account and programs. They are hidden
so you won't have to look at them every time you use the
ls command.