Changing the visibility settings of your FTP client is usually pretty simple (some, like FileZilla and Transmit, etc, will even show hidden files by default), however, as anybody who’s ever tried to do so will testify, changing the file-visibility settings on your computer (the most sensible place to make edits to files*) is usually anything but simple with a Mac – the most commonly used method being to boot up the dreaded Terminal and run a bunch scary commands… An altogether easier way: But how to make such edits? Or, more specifically, how to gain access to the htaccess file itself? Well, what with this being a dot-file (making the file hidden from view on most machines), it is - as you’ll already no doubt be aware - a particularly tricky file to deal with.

From redirects to controlling IP access, the htaccess file is an incredibly useful tool for achieving all kinds of modifications, tweaks and improvements to your website – the majority of which have, of course, already been expertly covered by Jeff Starr in the excellent htaccess made easy.

Filezilla show hidden files htaccess