How to Show Hidden Files and Folders in Windows 11

Like its predecessors, Windows 11 provides the option to show hidden system files and folders that are not visible in File Explorer by default. The easiest way to enable the feature is in File Explorer itself, but you can also do it via Control Panel or Windows Settings. We will show you all the methods to enable this feature and show hidden files and folders in this article.

Show Hidden Files and Folders in Windows 11 (2021)

Apart from the methods mentioned above, you can also see hidden files and folders in Windows 11 using Control Panel and Windows PowerShell. . So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Method 1: Show Hidden Files and Folders from File Explorer

The easiest way to show hidden files and folders in Windows 11 is to use File Explorer. There are two ways to do this, depending on whether you’re using the default minimalistic view of File Explorer in Windows 11 or the traditional Windows 10 view with a detailed ribbon at the top. Here are these two methods:

• First, launch File Explorer by clicking its icon on the Taskbar. If you do not see the File Explorer icon in the Taskbar, click “File Explorer” (without the quotes) in the Windows Search Bar and select the first search result.

• Your next action will depend on whether the top File Explorer toolbar has the traditional ribbon view or the default minimalist look in Windows 11. three points Select the icon (three dots) and click “Options” from the drop-down menu. Then skip the next step and go directly to step 4.

• Now, clicking “Options” will open the Folder Options popup. Here, “Appearance” tab. Then, under Advanced settings, scroll down and select the radio button next to “.Show hidden files, files, folders and drives” to enable the feature. Finally, hit ‘OK’ at the bottom of the window to save the change.

note: You can choose to view all protected operating system files by unchecking the “Hide protected operating system files” checkbox as seen in the screenshot below..

note: If you don’t know yet, find out how Windows 11 will look like Windows 10 by customizing the Start Menu, right-click context menu, and file explorer options. You can learn how to enable legacy Windows 10 ribbon style menu options from this article.

• For those using the traditional ribbon layout at the top of the File Explorer window “AppearanceGo to the ” tab and select the checkbox next to “.Hidden Items“. That’s it! You don’t need to restart File Explorer for the change to take effect.

Now no matter what File Explorer UI you use in Windows 11, you will see all the hidden files and folders on your PC.

Method 2: Enable ‘Show Hidden Files’ Using Control Panel

• Open Control Panel on your Windows 11 computer. To do this, search for “control panel” (without the quotes) in the Windows search bar and click “Control Panel” from the results.

• In the Control Panel, make sure you use the ” option.Icons” view (small or big). Next, “File Explorer Options“.

• In the File Explorer Options popup, click “Appearance” tab. Now scroll down and click “Show hidden files, folders and drives” using the corresponding radio button. Press OK to save the changes.

This much! Windows 11 File Explorer will now display all your hidden files and folders.

Method 3: Enable ‘Show Hidden Files’ Option in Windows 11 Settings

You can also enable the ‘Show hidden files…’ option in Windows 11 using the settings menu. Here’s how it works:

• Open Settings using the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut Windows key + I. Next, “Privacy and Securityin the left sidebar and click “”for developers” in the right pane.

• Now, scroll down in the right pane and under File Explorer, find “Change settings to show hidden and system files”. Click “Show settingsnext to the ” button.

Now you will once again see the same ‘File Explorer Options’ popup from Method 2. Follow the instructions detailed above to view hidden files and folders in Windows 11 File Explorer.

Method 4: View Hidden Files and Folders in Command Prompt

Another way to view the list of hidden files and folders on your Windows 11 computer is to use Command Prompt. This is how you do it:

• First, open a Command Prompt window in Administrator mode. To do this “cmdIn the Windows search bar ” (without the quotes) and “Run as administrator“.

• Now, type cd followed by a space and then copy and paste the full path to the folder where your hidden files are stored. Then press Enter. The screenshot below shows what it would look like if the path were like this. C:\Users\Kundu\Desktop\Desktop\Stuff.

• write now dir /ah To view a list of all hidden files and folders in this folder

This much! The above command will only show hidden files or folders in any location. In my case, the Demo Folder is a hidden folder created for demonstration purposes.

note: This method will only show you hidden files or folders in the Command Prompt window. To make hidden items visible in File Explorer every time, you must follow one of three methods. above.

Method 5: View Hidden Files in Windows PowerShell

If you really like command line methods, you can also use Windows PowerShell to see hidden files and folders in Windows 11.

• First, open Windows PowerShell in Administrator mode on your PC. To do this, search for “powershell” in the Windows search bar and click it. Run as administrator.

• In the PowerShell window, type cd followed by a space and copy and paste the full path to the folder with hidden files, just like the Command Prompt method. And then press Enter.

• Finally, to see hidden files in that folder location, type dir -force and press Enter. This much. Now you can see all your hidden files and folders in the target folder on your Windows 11 PC.

note: If you are not sure which folder contains hidden files, enter the full path to the folder that may have hidden files in its subfolders. Then use the following command: dir - recurse -force

View Hidden Files and Folders on Your Windows 11 Computer

It’s really easy to see hidden files and folders in Windows 11, but there’s a caveat here. Most of these files are used by the operating system and are critical to the proper functioning of your PC. Therefore, do not change them in any way without knowing what you are doing. That said, now that you know how to show hidden files and folders on your PC, check out some of our other Windows 11 tutorials. This includes how to change power mode settings in Windows 11 and how to change administrator in Windows 11.