the trick for web developers is to change the filename once the file hits the server. So: create a file on your own computer called htaccess (without the dot), upload it to the server and change the filename there to .htaccess.

Meanwhile:

1] on your Mac open Terminal and change directory to where the file is on your Mac. For example, on my Mac I have a file called .htaccess inside the Sites folder in my User directory.

I’d type this:

cd /Users/miraz/Sites

Now if you type ls -la you should see the .htaccess file listed.

2] Now *move* the file to the same directory but with a different name. The new name does not have the dot. Like this:

mv .htaccess htaccess

3] Now you can see the file in the normal way, without having to mess around with the Terminal. Open it with your usual text editor (NOT MS Word).

Extra TIP: the easy way to change directory in terminal:

1] open a Terminal window and type cd [space]
2] open the Finder window you want to cd to
3] drag the proxy icon (the wee folder) from the title bar of the Finder window into the Terminal window. This inserts the path to that folder
4] in Terminal press Return

I hope that helps.

Cheers,

Miraz