For security and privacy, you will not be allowed direct access to some hidden system files and those in other user accounts on your Mac, but otherwise you should at least be able to see and read the files on your system, and especially should have full access to all files in your Mac’s home folder. However, there are times when you might find yourself barred from editing or reading files for which you ought to have full access. Continue reading
Fix the inability to access a file in OS X
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Spotlight allows you to search for all of your files, applications, and other items on your Mac, allowing you to open them directly by highlighting them and pressing Enter, or even dragging them off the Spotlight menu (or window, for Yosemite) for various drag-and-drop purposes in OS X. While you can manage your listed search results in this way, if needed there may be times when you might want to find exactly where the file is on your Mac, or otherwise handle it in the Finder. 
When you use multiple applications on your Mac, you may end up with many windows open at once in each application. This may be for work you are currently doing, but at times you might find yourself with a mountain of open windows that contain progress for various projects, and you might wish to keep them open for the sake of your workflow. 
When browsing files in the Finder, you have the option for previewing them using Apple’s QuickLook feature. This allows you to either see some general information about files such as file size and last modification date, but for supported files you should see a preview of their contents, simply by pressing the Space bar with a file selected. While convenient, for previewing a file or two, you can use QuickLook to zoom in on images, as well as open files you are previewing. 
There are many times in OS X when you will come across items organized into list, be it in Finder windows where you might have List View selected, or Mail messages that are organized into conversations. You might also find this in panels like the Finder info window’s various categories, or in places in the system preferences. If you regularly use these lists, then you might benefit from a little trick to help reveal or conceal items in them. 
