- To show hidden files on Windows 10, open “File Explorer” (Windows key + E), click the “View” tab, and check “Hidden items.”
- To show hidden protected files, open “File Explorer,” click the “View” tab, click “Options,” check the “Show hidden, folders, and drives” option, deselect the “Clear the Hide protected operating system files” option, click “Apply,” and “OK.”
- You can also use commands with PowerShell and Command Prompt.
UPDATED 10/21/2023: On Windows 10, sometimes, you may need to show hidden files on File Explorer or in a command-line application to change system or app settings. Usually, these items are hidden to avoid clutter or prevent accidental deletion of important components that may corrupt the operating system.
If you want to view hidden files and folders, Windows 10 offers many ways to complete this task using File Explorer, Command Prompt, and even PowerShell.
In this tutorial, I will teach you the easy steps to show hidden items on Windows 10.
- Unhide files from File Explorer
- Unhide files from Command Prompt
- Unhide files from PowerShell
On Windows 10, you can show hidden files through File Explorer and commands to change settings or troubleshoot problems, and here’s how.
1. Unhide files from File Epxlorer
To show hidden files in File Explorer on Windows 10, use these steps:
Open File Explorer on Windows 10.
Click on the View tab.
Under the “Show/hide” section, check the Hidden items option.
Once you complete the steps, File Explorer will show the hidden and unhidden items, but it’ll continue to hide other protected files.
Show hidden protected files
To see hidden protected operating system files on Windows 10, use these steps:
Open File Explorer.
Click on the View tab.
Click the Options button.
Click the View tab.
Under the “Advanced settings” section, check the Show hidden, folders, and drives option.
Clear the Hide protected operating system files option.
Click the Apply button.
Click the OK button.
Once you complete the steps, you will now be able to see hidden files and protected Windows 10 files within File Explorer.
2. Unhide files from Command Prompt
To display hidden files and folders while in Command Prompt, use these steps:
Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to list hidden files for the location and press Enter:
dir /adh
When working with the dir command, you can display hidden content in several ways using the following switches:
- /a – only shows hidden folders.
- /a:d – only shows all directories.
- /a:h – only shows all hidden files.
- /adh – shows a combination of the options above.
After you complete the steps, the command will allow you to see hidden files and folders while in Command Prompt without changing the File Explorer settings.
3. Unhide files from PowerShell
To create a list of hidden and protected operating system files with PowerShell, use these steps:
Open Start.
Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to view all the hidden files and folders for the location, and press Enter:
dir -Force
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Once you complete the steps, the command will show hidden files and folders, but it will not change the folder options in File Explorer.
This guide focuses on Windows 10, but this feature has been available for a long time, so the steps will also work on Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and older versions.
Update October 21, 2023: These instructions have been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect new changes.
FAQs
Open File Explorer from the taskbar. Select View > Options > Change folder and search options. Select the View tab and, in Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives and OK.
How do I force show hidden files? ›
Select the Start button, then select Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization. Select Folder Options, then select the View tab. Under Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and then select OK.
Why can't I show hidden files? ›
Click on “File Explorer Options” or “Folder Options,” depending on your Control Panel view. In the Folder Options window, go to the “View” tab. Under “Advanced settings,” locate the “Hidden files and folders” section. Select “Show hidden files, folders, and drives.” Click “Apply” and then “o*k” to save your changes.
What is the command to show hidden files? ›
What is the command to show hidden files in Windows? To display hidden files in Windows using a command, open Command Prompt (CMD), navigate to your desired directory with cd [path to your directory] , and then type dir /a:h to list all hidden files in that directory.
What is the shortcut key for showing hidden files? ›
Showing hidden files in Windows 10 and 8
Open the File Explorer using the Windows shortcut Windows + E. Then select the “View” tab in the ribbon at the top and click the “Show/Hide” box.
How do I find my hidden files? ›
How to Find Hidden Files on Android
- Open your File Manager.
- Click "Menu," and then "Settings."
- Scroll to the "Advanced" section, and enable "Show hidden files."
- Then, all of the hidden files will be viewable and accessible.
- Go to the Gallery app on your Android device.
- Click on the "Gallery Menu."
- Choose "Settings."
Let's use that to interpret that specific command: -h removes the hidden attribute (so the items will show up in Explorer) -r removes the read-only attribute. -s removes the system attribute (also so the items will show up in Explorer)
How do I show hidden files in Finder? ›
View Hidden Files in Finder
In Finder, click your hard drive under Locations, then open your Macintosh HD folder. Press Command + Shift + . (period) to make the hidden files appear.
How to show hidden files in flash drive using command prompt? ›
To unhide files using CMD, follow these three steps:
- Properly connect the USB drive to your computer.
- Press Windows + X keys to bring up a menu and click Command Prompt (Admin) in this menu.
- Enter attrib -h -r -s /s /d G:\*.
The reason some files and folders are automatically marked as hidden is that, unlike other data like your pictures and documents, they're not files that you should be changing, deleting, or moving around. These are often important operating system-related files. Both Windows and macOS computers have hidden files.
Hidden files are displayed with a slight transparency, so even when they are visible they are visually delineated from non-hidden files. Under Windows Explorer, the content of a directory can also be hidden just by appending a pre-defined CLSID to the end of the folder name.
How do I show hidden files in LS? ›
The "ls" command has many options that, when passed, affect the output. For example, the "-a" option will show all files and folders, including hidden ones. This time, we see a few more items in the list. The "." and ".." items simply represent the current directory and one level up respectively.
How do I show all hidden files in Windows 10? ›
Windows 10
- Open File Explorer from the taskbar.
- Select View. Go to Options and select Change folder and search options.
- Select the View tab. In Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
- Select OK. All hidden files and folders are now visible.
Here are some useful options you can use with the tree command:
- -a : This option will display hidden files and directories as well.
- -L level : This option allows you to specify the depth to which the directory structure should be displayed. ...
- -d : This option will display only directories and not files.
Find Hidden Files Using ls Command
To display hidden files with the ;ls' command, we use the '-a' flag. The '-a' flag stands for "all" and instructs the “ls” command list all files (including hidden files).
How do I show hidden devices on Windows 10? ›
View Hidden Devices in Device Manager on Windows 10
- Open the Device Manager app. ...
- Click the View item on the menu bar.
- Click on Show hidden devices to add a check mark and make the hidden devices visible.
- By click on the same item once again you will remove the check mark and toggle visibility of hidden devices.
Press Alt+Tab to select the lost window, then hold the Windows key and tap the left or the right arrow key to snap the window back onto the screen. On Windows 10, you can right-click the taskbar and click “Cascade Windows” to move every window back onto the desktop.
Why are all of my files hidden? ›
The reason some files and folders are automatically marked as hidden is that, unlike other data like your pictures and documents, they're not files that you should be changing, deleting, or moving around. These are often important operating system-related files. Both Windows and macOS computers have hidden files.
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