How to make hidden files visible. How to create and see a hidden, invisible folder or file

Hello dear readers! What are these files and why hide them, how can you make hidden folders visible in Windows 7? I will tell you more in the article and show you several ways to see hidden, invisible folders in Windows 7. A hidden file or folder is no different from others, except that they are not visible. They can be divided into two groups:

1. Hidden by the Windows system.
2. PC user - specially makes it closed from prying eyes.

The first way to show invisible folders

Let's use a method that is accessible to everyone. Open “Start” - located in the lower left corner, then go to the control panel. As shown in the picture, select “small icons” or large ones, it doesn’t matter and click on “folder options”.

A window will pop up, click on the “View” tab. Scroll the slider to the bottom, and depending on what you need to see, remove the checkmarks from the menu or put them in the desired positions. When the checkboxes are checked in the desired order, do not forget to click “Apply” and then OK.

The second method of displaying “invisible”

If you have the Total commander program installed, you can also view hidden files through it.

Launch the program, select “configuration” in the top menu and click on “settings”.

On the left in the menu, select “panel contents”, check the box “show hidden files” and if you need to see what the system has hidden, check “show system files”, then click “Apply” and Ok.

Both options have been tested and work, so feel free to use them. Which one is more convenient - everyone will decide for themselves. This is where I end. Also go to other sections, look at the articles, maybe you will find something useful for yourself or your computer).

– these are folders for which the “hidden” attribute is set. By default, such folders are not displayed in the Windows interface. Hidden folders are used to hide folders that the user does not need. Often, hidden folders are folders with system files, the deletion of which can damage the operating system. In such cases, the “hidden” attribute is used as protection against accidental deletion of files. In this material you will learn how to make a hidden folder visible and how you can remove the “hidden” attribute from it.

How to Make a Hidden Folder Visible Using Windows Settings

In order to make a hidden folder visible, you need to enable the display of hidden folders. To do this, open any folder and press the ALT key on . After this, a series of drop-down menus will appear: File, Edit, View, Tools and Help. After this we need to open the “Tools” menu.

After this, a window called “Folder Options” should open in front of you.

If you are unable to open the Folder Options window through the Tools menu, you can open it using the search bar in the Start menu. To do this, simply enter the search query “folder options” and open the first line in the search results.

So, after you have opened the Folder Options window, you need to go to the View tab. Here there is a list of parameters that relate to folders and files. You need to find the option “Hide protected system files” and “ ”.

The “Hide protected system files” option must be disabled (unchecked), and the “Show hidden files, folders and drives” option must be enabled (checked). After this, you need to save the settings; to do this, close the “Folder Options” window by clicking on the “Ok” button.

How to make a hidden folder visible by changing its properties

After these simple operations, hidden folders should become visible and you can remove them as you would with other regular folders. If necessary, you can remove the “Hidden” attribute from hidden folders. To do this, right-click on the hidden folder and select the “Properties” menu item.

After this, a window with the properties of your hidden folder will open. Here you need to uncheck the box next to “Hidden” and click on the “Ok” button.

If your folder contains other folders, you will see a window asking you to remove the hidden attribute from only this folder or from this folder and all subfolders. If you want to remove the hidden attribute from all subfolders, then select the second option and click on the “Ok” button.

After this, the folder you selected will no longer be hidden. Now, if there is such a need, you can turn off the display of hidden folders and work with the system as before. This can be done in the Folder Options window.

There may be a need to open hidden files and folders of the operating system, mainly to edit some important system documents.

To do this, you need to know how to make hidden folders visible.

The fact is that in all modern versions of Windows OS, the default settings assume the so-called “fool protection”.

This means that an inexperienced user simply does not see most of the important system partitions and cannot make potentially dangerous changes to them.

But on the other hand, some subtle settings of the operating system may require editing these hidden files.

This article will provide a detailed guide to implement this procedure on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, which currently occupy the lion's share of operating systems in use in the commercial and private sector.

Secrets of the Windows 7 system partition

This version of the operating system from Microsoft has taken the palm of popularity from the legendary XP, support for which ended several years ago.

This success is primarily dictated by the user-friendly interface, in which it is easy to find the necessary settings.

This also applies to the option to show hidden folders and files, which is most easily activated through the taskbar.

• First, you need to get to the taskbar in the standard way: open Start and select “Control Panel”.

• Then click on the link “Design and personalization”.

Advice! For convenience, you need to select a display method by category.

• In the variety that opens, we need the “Folder Options” category, or, more precisely, its “Show hidden files and folders” option, which speaks for itself.

• In the window that opens called “Folder Options,” expand the “View” tab and at the very bottom of the list of additional options we see the function of showing/hiding special files. All that remains is to set the checkbox to the desired position.

You can get to the “Folder Options” window in Windows 7 in a simpler way: to do this, just open any directory and select “Folder and Search Options” from the “Arrange” drop-down menu.

Advice! If you decide to use this method, by default only hidden files in the current directory will be displayed. To apply this rule to all drives, you must activate the “Apply to folders” option.

Having dealt with the classics, you can move on to more modern systems.

We delve into the intricacies of Windows 8

This version of the operating system is significantly different from Windows 7, which at one time caused many complaints from users.

The changes also affected hidden directories: in Windows 8, there are two types of files and folders that are not visible to the user.

The first is the actual hidden sections. Not only system files and folders have this status, but also components of various third-party applications.

Moreover, the user himself can assign this type to any object on the disk.

However, this opportunity is often used by malware, which, for example, results in problems with files on a flash drive.

For these two types, the algorithm of actions will be different.

To open regular hidden files and folders, you need to do the following:

• First, you should open “Explorer”, for which you can use the standard shortcut in the “Taskbar”.

• In the folder that opens, in the top settings panel, click on the “View” menu and select the “Show and Hide” function. In the list that opens, you must activate the “Hidden elements” checkbox.
  In the same way, you can assign hidden status to any selected file or folder.

In order to see particularly important system files, you need to make the following settings:

• In the same “View” menu, go to “Options” - “Change folder and search options.”

• As a result, the “Folder Options” settings window will appear, similar to that in Windows 7. Here you should go to the “View” tab and uncheck the “Hide” protected system files checkbox (recommended).

There is another way to get to this window:

• In Start, which in eight has an unusual Metro interface, click on the gear icon (Computer Settings).

• In the menu that opens, you need to click on the lowest link to open the Control Panel, which is familiar to most users.

• In the “Taskbar”, first select the method of displaying functions Large (or small) icons, and then click on the “Folder Options” link, which will ultimately give access to the settings window of the same name.

It is also worth considering separately the algorithm for enabling the display of hidden and system elements for Windows 10, since, despite its similarity to the eight, the settings of this OS have their own nuances.

Are you running Windows XP or perhaps you prefer the 2007 version? Be that as it may, many are interested in the question of how to make an invisible folder in your work profile. To learn more about this, let's first look at the concept of a work profile and what it even is.

User profile

User profile is a term in multi-user systems. For Windows it was introduced starting with the XP version (system for professionals) and Home Edition (home edition). Both operating systems already operated with the concept of “user” and, accordingly, the simplest privacy functions. Therefore, the developers built into these environments the ability to create an invisible folder.

As for the profile, this is simply a series of settings, such as desktop design, visual design of programs, sound schemes, security settings and usage rights. All this is stored in the system for the so-called user account in the general system-software database - the Windows registry. Each user registered in the system under any account has such a profile.

WindowsXP. Making an invisible folder is easy

To do this, the “My Computer” icon is usually visible on the desktop. Open it by double-clicking the left mouse button. We will be shown with four tabs: “General”, “View”, “File types”, “Offline files”. Of these, we need a second tab, which is responsible for the type of data displayed. In it, scroll through the “Advanced parameters” field. And we focus on the “Hidden files and folders” item. How to do is shown below.

If we put the visible switch in the “Do not show folders” position, then all created folders and files with the hide attribute will not be shown to the current Windows user. This means that you can actually make the folder invisible to keep its contents private.

To do this you need to follow a few simple steps:

1. Right-click on the displayed folder with the mouse or touchpad.
2. In the submenu that appears, select the last item “Properties”.
3. And set the hide checkbox next to the “Hidden” attribute, the same applies to a separate file.

If everything is done correctly, then you have learned how to make an invisible folder. At the same time, the folder that you hid should not be visible in the My Computer program. To display it again, just on the “View” tab change the direction of the switch to “Show hidden files and folders”. Do not confuse this item with a similar one called “Hide protected system files.”

System flaws

In some cases the following happens. Setting the switch to the “Show hidden files, folders” position may not work. And it will return to its original position. Everything here depends on the software used and the version of the Windows system.

How to make an invisible folder in Windows 7

In addition to the XP version, most computers are increasingly switching to Windows 7. Naturally, its functionality also allows you to hide objects - make them invisible. Therefore, let's look at how to do this using this OS.

To hide a folder object:

1. Hover your touchpad or mouse cursor over the folder you want to hide.
2. Right-click on “Properties” and switch to the “General” tab.
3. In the “attributes” field, select the “Hidden” checkbox.

Now let's look at how to show an already hidden folder:

1. Open the “Control Panel” shortcut.
2. Select the “Appearance and Personalization” sub-item, then “Folder Options”.
3. Go to the “View” tab and set the radio button to “Show hidden folders and drives.” Save the changes by clicking the “Apply” button, you can “OK”.

Thus, we found out how to make an invisible folder using the same tools. We also learned how to show hidden objects using the same tools.