.bash_profile
 

I have to set some environment variables in ".bash_profile" but unable to find this file. Where I can find this file or if not exists how to create it and at which location?

it's in the user's directory in /home. in red hat there's a skeleton in /etc/skel/.bash_profile which i would guess is for global .bash_profile generation when users are created.

from the command line if you want to see hidden files, use:

ls -al

if you're using a file manager like konqueror or something, you need to set the file manager to view hidden files.

I am able to view hidden files with ls -al. How to unhide the hidden file? Thanks

what file manager are you using?

Nautilus 2.2.1 Gnome

well i'm a kde user (konqueror) and my nautilus is a very old version (1.0.6) but on nautalis for me, just click Preferences > Advanced in the menu bar and nautilus will then show all files.

Hello

From my childhood days in ms-dos I remember the Norton Commander. Since linux came to my desktop I returned to my roots with the Midnight Commander. It always works, shows hidden files and lets you edit files with a build in editor or an editor of your choise, e.g. vi. More info at
http://www.ibiblio.org/mc/

Actually my question was how to reset the hidden attribute of a file from command line?

it's not an attribute. It's the . at the beginning of the file name that indicates that it is hidden. Don't remove it from .bash_profile though or your system won't find it.

Oh another difference with windows attributes where you can reset hidden attributes. Thanks for you nice input.