How to show (or hide) a hidden file

I wanted to add classpath to my JDK. While searching a way to do it I noticed everyone open .profile file using terminal. But when I want to open and edit it with a text editor I couldn't see that file in Home folder.

Can someone tell me why is this. And also if possible how can I access .profile in home folder the GUI way.

Solution 1:

GUI way to show a hidden file or folder

Hidden files and folder have names that start with a . (dot character). To toggle show/hide hidden files or folders use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H.

Solution 2:

in Linux and Unix systems, the files starting with . (a dot) are hidden files. To see them with the ls command, add -a or -A at your ls.

ls -a /path/to/dir

or

ls -A ~

From the manual man ls:

   -a, --all
          do not ignore entries starting with .

   -A, --almost-all
          do not list implied . and ..