Apple is nice enough to shield its users from the clutter of hidden files on our systems. However, any web developer who works with those files I am sure could tell you what a pain it is to not have those files available though finder.

Anyone ever tried to publish a web app to production only to forget about the .htaccess?

Open a Terminal windows and type to show hidden files: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE killall Finder

Open a Terminal windows and type to hide hidden files: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE killall Finder

What do these lines do? The first will update the Finder setting that controls the view option for hidden files. The second line will force finder to restart so the setting can take effect. Do note however if you have any finder windows open; they will close!