Have you ever wondered why you always see

        .DS_Store
    

 files everywhere on Mac? Not really sure what it does? Well, as it turns out,

        .DS_Store
    

 contains all of the custom attributes that define the look and feel of a particular folder.

So regardless of what your default folder view options have been set to, any folder with a

        .DS_Store
    

 file is going to override those defaults. This can be frustrating for a Mac newbie who doesn't know why a folder's options won't change back.

mac-osx-finder-folder-view-options

Fortunately, this is easy to fix. You just need to mass delete these

        .DS_Store
    

 files and all of those folders will revert to the default look and feel.

But make sure you type the following command EXACTLY otherwise you could end up deleting ALL of your files by accident! Here's the command:

        find ~ -name .DS_Store -delete
    

This will delete all of the

        .DS_Store
    

 files within your Home folder and all subfolders. Launch the Terminal app and copy/paste into there (or type it out by hand) and press Enter. It may take a while to complete depending on the size of your Home folder and your computer specs.

Change the

        ~
    

 to

        /
    

 if you want to delete them across your ENTIRE file system.

What are your preferred viewing and sorting options for folders in Mac? I like the Column view sorted by Kind, but not everyone does. Share with us by commenting below!

Image Credit: AlexHliv via Shutterstock