file extensionsfinder
I originally have a file called config.yml. When I go into Finder and change its name to config.yml.old, it appears to have changed the extension. However, opening the file in TextWrangler reveals that Mac has just appended a "hidden" .yml at the end, causing the filename to be config.yml.old.yml.
Right now, the only way I can append an extension is by going to Terminal and running mv path/to/config.yml path/to/config.yml.old. Is there actually a way to use the GUI to do this?
Any file or folder that begins with '.' is going to be hidden in the Finder. That has always been true, back to the days of NeXTStep.
If what you are trying to do is automatically rename files that begin with a '.' to not begin with a '.' that can easily be accomplished with a shell script. Save the following as /usr/local/bin/rename-dot-files.sh:
#!/bin/zsh -f
DIR="$HOME/Downloads/"
cd "$DIR"
ls -1Ad \.* | egrep -v '.DS_Store|.localized' | while read line
do
NEWNAME=$(echo "$line" | sed 's#^\.##g')
/bin/mv -vn "$line" "$NEWNAME"
done
exit 0
That script will look in $HOME/Downloads/ for any files that start with a . (excluding .DS_Store and .localized which you do not want to rename) and will rename it to the same name, without the '.' as long as there is no other file/folder with that same name.
To do this automatically you will need to create a launchd plist that will automatically launch any time the directory changes:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Disabled</key>
<false/>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.tjluoma.rename-dot-files</string>
<key>Program</key>
<string>/usr/local/bin/rename-dot-files.sh</string>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
<key>WatchPaths</key>
<array>
<string>/Users/luomat/Downloads/</string>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>
Obviously you'll want to change the path from /Users/luomat/ to whatever your $HOME is.
Save that plist to ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.tjluoma.rename-dot-files.plist and then load it as:
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.tjluoma.rename-dot-files.plist
The script will run whenever the ~/Downloads/ is changed, which includes any files being added or removed, but it automatically limits itself to files which begin with '.'
Turn off 'Show icon preview' (in german: Symbolvorschau einblenden) in the view options of the specific folder or all folders and you will probably see your custom icon.
If you want to apply this to all folders click the “Use as Defaults” button.
Best Answer
Optionally, check "Show all filename extensions" to verify that Mac did not automatically append extensions when you add your own.