![]() For example, to open the file nf, which contains many of the settings for CUPS, Mac OS X's printing system, you would type /etc/cups and then click Go. Savvy OS X users know that you can locate such files by choosing "Go to Folder" from the Finder's Go menu and then typing the path to the folder containing the file in question when you click the Go button, the Finder will open that folder. (For example, a previous MacFixIt article explained how to disable Spotlight by editing the hostconfig file, located in /private/etc.) If you suspect (based on your own knowledge of the OS or as a result of reading a site such as MacFixIt) that a setting in one of these files might be causing a problem, and you want to access that file, you first have to be able to locate it. Opening hidden files One of the challenges of troubleshooting Mac OS X is that many of the configuration files used by the operating system are located in hidden directories. This begs another question: With all the good text editors out there - and one, TextEdit, included with Mac OS X - what makes TextWrangler worth the download? Three features set it apart from most other text editors. (If you're a longtime reader of MacFixIt, you've surely seen the phrase, "One solution is to edit the file.in a text editor" many times.) So every troubleshooter needs a good text editor, and TextWrangler is my favorite for this purpose. ![]() The fact is that a good text editor comes in handy when troubleshooting by allowing you to view the contents of text files and, when necessary, to edit them. Why are you talking about a text editor?" Why, indeed. You may be thinking, "But this is supposed to be a column about troubleshooting tools. But unlike BBEdit, which retails for $199, TextWrangler is free. ![]() If not, the short description is that TextWrangler is one of the more powerful text editors on any platform, surpassed in some users' minds only by its big sibling, BBEdit, which has more tools for application development and coding and for working with HTML. If you're the type of Mac user who's hip to the latest software, you've surely heard of Bare Bones' TextWrangler. Our monthly Troubleshooting Tools column, penned by MacFixIt Contributing Editor Dan Frakes, covers products that can help you maintain and fix your Mac. ![]()
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