Disable hidden files using FileChooser from JavaFX

Question

I'm developing a Java app using JavaFX for it's user interface.

When I use the FileChooser class to load a CSV file from the computer hard drive in Os X Mavericks the dialog shows me all the files and folders, even the hidden one creating a lot of noise and making really hard to find the desired file.

This screenshot illustrates what I'm talking about:

I think this could be more a OS X issue, but I don't understand how to fix, at least I don't understand how I can fix it with JavaFX FileChooser class.

Here's my code:

Stage stage = new Stage();
FileChooser fileChooser = new FileChooser();
fileChooser.setTitle("Open File");
fileChooser.getExtensionFilters().addAll(
        new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("Comma-Separated Values (CSV)", "*.csv")
);
fileChooser.setInitialDirectory(
        new File(System.getProperty("user.home"))
);
File selectedFile = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(stage);

Update

This is the Google Chrome modal to open files.

Answer 1

After looking at sources... FileChooser is implemented over native dialogs and completely non customizable.

So, no, you can't force dialog to show/hide hidden files.

Inside FileChooser dialog there should be an context menu item to show/hide them, but you can't control this option from application

For example, here is how it looks on Linux:

Answer 2

Have you tried hiding all hidden files in the Finder -program on the OS X machine? So: not using JavaFX, but using the program Finder?

Answer 3

I know this is late to the game but none of the answers really explain the situation for MacOS.

The open/save dialogs in JavaFX are native dialog (implemented as "sheets"). Just as Finder does not have a "show hidden files" option, these dialogs don't either. There are several solutions:

1. Relatively unknown keyboard shortcuts, available since Mavericks: View Hidden Files in Mac Open and Save Dialog Boxes . (I just stumbled on this; I have always used #2 below.)

2. Command-line switch in Terminal:

   • show hidden -> defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES , or
   • hide -> defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO

Your user has to be sufficiently aware of these alternatives; you cannot customize the native open/save dialog to provide a button to do this.