Windows: how to show hidden files and folders

To show hidden folders and files in Windows 8 and Windows 10, proceed as follows:

1. Open the File Explorer using the Windows shortcut  Windows + E.
2. Then select the “View” tab in the ribbon at the top and click the “Show/Hide” box.
3. Select the “Hidden items” checkbox to show the hidden files.

Once you’ve shown the hidden items, hidden folders in Windows appear slightly transparent.

Alternatively, you can show hidden files via the Folder Options in Windows. To do this, follow these five steps:

1. Open the File Explorer as described above.
2. Choose View and then the Options box.
3. In the Folder Options dialog box, go to View.
4. Scroll down in the menu until you reach the Hidden files and folders heading.
5. Select the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option and choose OK to confirm.

The procedure for showing hidden files and folders is similar in Windows 7. However, there are minor differences in menu navigation. Proceed as follows to show hidden files in Windows 7:

1. Open the File Explorer using the keyboard shortcut Windows + E.
2. Then click Organize in the toolbar at the top and select Folder and search options from the drop-down menu.
3. In the dialog box that appears, select the View tab.
4. Scroll down to Hidden files and folders in the menu and select the Show hidden files, folders and drives option.
5. Finally, click OK again to confirm and save the setting.

Another method of showing hidden files in Windows 7 and later versions of Windows is to use Command Prompt. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. To open the command line, click Start, type the command cmd in the search box and then open Command Prompt.
2. Note the drive where the hidden files are saved, for example the C:\ drive.
3. Then enter the following command to display the hidden files (in this case, c stands for the drive C:\): attrib -s -h -r /s /c *.*

You may also want to hide specific files or entire folders yourself, for example, if you’re using a computer with multiple users. The easiest way to do this is to create a folder, right-click the properties and then select the Hidden option under Attributes. The procedure is the same for individual files, such as Office documents.

The problem with the above methods for viewing hidden files is that the hidden folders can be easily unhidden by other users. However, you can use a different method to avoid this problem:

1. Create a new folder, right-click it and then select the “Properties” option from the menu.
2. Click the “Customize” tab and change the folder icon by clicking “Change icon”.
3. Select a blank icon from the list displayed (see screenshot below) so that the folder has no icon.
4. Then rename the folder by right-clicking it and selecting “Rename”.
5. Press the space bar once (or several times). Save the name change by pressing the Enter key.