How to set up hidden folders in windows 7. Hidden files and folders

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Often, users of the Windows operating system, in particular one of its latest versions- Windows 7, there is a need to make hidden folders visible in Explorer. You will learn how to do this from this short note. There are two main ways to enable the display of hidden folders in Windows 7. Each of them is quite simple, just one is shorter and the other is longer.

Method one. This is what is shown to schoolchildren and students in computer science lessons. Find the “My Computer” shortcut on the Desktop and left-click on it. At the top, in the very corner of the left side of the screen, you will see the “Arrange” item. Click on this word with the left mouse button. In the window that appears, select “Folder and Search Options.”

Another Windows 7 “Folder Options” window will appear. Click on the second tab. In additional settings, find the item “Hidden files and folders”, check the “Show hidden files, folders and disks.”

Before closing the window, do not forget to click “Apply” and “OK”. That's it, after completing these simple steps, hidden folders will appear on your computer.

Method two. It is not particularly different from the first one and, in principle, is similar to it. So, first, open “Control Panel” from the “Start” menu.

A Windows 7 window will open, where you will need to find the item “Folder Options” - “Show hidden folders”.

The exact same “Folder Options” window will open as we could see using the first method. Using the slider, find the “Hidden files and folders” item, check the “Show…” checkbox, save the changes by clicking on “Apply” and then “OK”.

As you can see, make hidden folders appear in Explorer or the same Total Commander, is not difficult. All you have to do is choose how exactly you will do it. Good luck!

I believe that the article was useful!

Hidden directories are directories that, by default, are not visible to the average user in Explorer. Usually system folders are hidden from view - like this Windows image protects components important for its operation from accidental modification or removal. To hide files and Windows folders 7 become visible, you need to make some changes to the OS settings.

How to open invisible folders for viewing

Although the developers of Windows 7 made sure that the directories necessary for the stable operation of the operating system were not modified by the user. But in In some cases it is necessary to show hidden OS data, for example, in order to remove virus programs that have infected the computer and settled in system folders.

Hidden system components are located on the disk partition on which the operating system is installed. For most users, drive C plays the role of the main volume.

There are several ways to make invisible directories viewable.

Changing folder options

The easiest way to make invisible directories public is to use the Folder Options feature:

If for some reason you cannot open Options window by pressing the Alt button, use the search function in the Start menu. To do this, simply enter the query “Folder Options” into the search bar - the system will find it itself the desired program and will offer to open it.

Another way to change directory settings is to open the Start menu, go to Control Panel and select Appearance and Personalization. In the contents of the section you will see the item “Folder Options”.

Making changes to the Registry Editor

To perform the algorithm described below, you must be logged into Windows with account administrator, otherwise the system will not allow changes to the registry:

Setting up via Total Commander

Another way to make a hidden folder not hidden is to use Total Commander. Popular the file manager is not only functional and easy to use, but also available for free download:

1. Download and run the utility.
2. In the top panel of the manager, select the “Configuration” tab.
3. Find the item “Settings: Panel Contents” in the list of elements.
4. Check the boxes next to “Show hidden files” and “Show hidden folders”. Confirm the changes with the “Apply” button.
5. Click OK.

You can check the effectiveness of the method used by going to the system partition (that is, opening drive C). If translucent folders called ProgramData and MSOCashe appear there, the process was successful.

If you wish, you can make hidden system directories normal so that they do not look different from the rest. To do this, you should perform the following manipulations:

1. Right-click on the directory whose attributes you want to change and open properties.
2. Uncheck the box next to “Hidden” and click OK.

How to make directories invisible

If there is a need to return the OS to its original state by hiding system data, use the methods described above in reverse order: remove the corresponding marks or change the registry values.

If you share your computer with other users and want to protect certain information from prying eyes, You can use another simple way to hide- rename the folder and set a transparent icon for it. This method is not very reliable and is not suitable for system components, but it will help out in case of emergency:

1. Highlight the directory you want to hide and press the F2 key and then the Alt key.
2. Without releasing Alt, enter the number 255 on the numeric keypad on the right (Num Lock must be turned on). If everything is done correctly, you will end up with a folder with an empty name.
3. Right-click on the directory and open “Properties”.
4. Go to the Settings tab and find the Change Icon option.
5. Find the transparent one among the icons and select it. Click OK.

Now a person who does not know about the existence of a folder will not be able to detect it, even if he turns on the option to show hidden files. However, if you click on the location of such a directory the key combination Ctrl+A (Select all), it will not be difficult to notice. So for hiding especially important information This method will not work - it’s better to use special utilities.

All the described methods for viewing hidden folders in Windows 7 will help you see previously invisible directories, and, if you want, hide them from public access again. However, remember that hidden directories usually contain important components, and accidentally deleting one of them may require you to reinstall Windows. Therefore, it is better not to open system directories unless absolutely necessary.

Sometimes you need to view or find hidden files or folders in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. This is easy to do:

How to show or hide hidden folders and files in Windows XP

Open some folder or " My computer". In the menu at the top of the window, the item “ Service" and click on it with the left mouse button. In the drop-down menu you need the lowest item - “ Folder properties«:

All. Don't forget to click the " OK»

How to show (open) or remove (hide) hidden folders and files in Windows Vista / Windows 7

It's even easier in Windows 7. Go to Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization, and find the "Show hidden files and folders" section.

After clicking on it, the same window will open as in Windows XP.

On the “View” tab, check the box next to “ Show hidden files and folders«.

You can also uncheck the box next to “ Hide protected system files«.

All. Again, don’t forget to click the “ OK«.

Beginner users sooner or later have to look for ways to ensure the security of personal data on their computer. In one case, files can be encrypted or packed into a password-protected archive, in others you have to hide directories with personal photos and other data in the wilds file system or make them invisible in Explorer windows.

When the time comes to access the contents of a hidden directory, the question arises: how to show hidden folders in Windows 7. We hid it, but we don’t know how to show it back. This short but detailed article will answer the question posed.

Hidden folders and files are physically no different from regular ones. The only difference is that the former have the “Hidden” attribute active. It can be assigned to any file system object to which the user has access. Many system directories, for example, are invisible to the user by default in order to protect system files from inexperienced users.

Conductor

The point of any of the methods (except for using third-party software) is to change the value of the system registry key responsible for visualizing hidden folders in Windows 7.

1. Solving the problem begins by launching Explorer, for example, using the Win + E key combination (the contents of the “My Computer” directory will open).
2. Click on the “Arrange” button located under the window header.

1. In the “Tools” drop-down menu, click on the “Folder Options” item.

The same window opens through the main menu of the explorer.

1. Press the Alt key to display the main menu.
2. In it, click on the “Service” item.

1. From the drop-down list, select “Folder Options...”.

1. Switch to the “View” tab.

1. Scroll through the list of options in the “Advanced Options” frame.

1. To return hidden directories, move the switch next to the “Hidden folders and files” option to the second position – “Show hidden files...”.

1. Click “OK” to save the new Windows graphical shell settings.

Now Explorer will display all file system objects with the “Hidden” attribute, and this does not require a computer restart, re-authorization in the system, or even a window refresh.

Icons with low brightness and color saturation indicate that files/folders have been assigned the “Hidden” attribute.

You can also get to the settings window, familiar from the previous section, through the control panel.

We launch it in any convenient way.

If its elements are shown as categories, go to the “Design and Personalization” section.

Here we click on “Folder Options”.

In the case where control panel elements are displayed as small or large icons, the Folder Options applet is already in the main window.

By the way, the quickest way to open a window with directory parameter settings is to use the “control folders” command. It should be executed through the search bar or the “Run” window. The key combination Win + R will help you do this.

Registry Editor

You can also change the value of the key that allows you to manage hidden objects manually using the registry editor built into Windows 7. To do this, let's launch it.

1. Open the “Run” window through Start or with the key combination Win + R.
2. Enter and execute the “regedit” command.

Administrator privileges are required to perform this operation.

1. Expand the HKEY_CURREN_USER hive, where all settings related to the current account are stored.

1. Go to the path: “Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced”.
2. Call the context menu of the key with the name “Hidden” and click “Change...”.

1. 1. Enter “1” as the new key value and press Enter or click “OK”.

1. All that remains is to re-enter the directory where the hidden objects were. You can also update its contents using the F5 key or the button located to the right of the address bar.

Total Commander

Many Windows users They prefer the Total Commander file manager to Explorer due to the program’s enormous advantages in convenience and functionality. To enable the function of displaying hidden directories and files, perform the following chain of operations.

1. From the main menu, call the “Configuration” command.

1. In the drop-down menu, click on the item “Settings: Panel Contents”.

1. Activating the “Show hidden folders” option will help you display hidden directories. We mark it with a checkbox and apply the settings.

After saving the settings and closing the configuration window, Total Commander will begin to show hidden folders.

How to hide information

You can hide a folder or file by assigning the corresponding attribute to it/him. This is done as follows.

1. First you need to open the “Properties” of the object through the context menu or using the keyboard shortcut Alt + Enter.
2. Check the box next to the “Hidden” option in the “Attributes” frame.

If you clear this checkbox, the hidden file/directory will be displayed in the Explorer window.

1. Save the new settings by selecting suitable parameters in the warning window.

Regarding removable drives

After removing Win32 viruses that hid all files on the flash drive and replaced them with themselves, you have to change the attributes of all affected objects. A little trick will help you see their list and make them visible for the current media without activating the option to visualize hidden directories and files in Explorer.

1. Open the contents of the flash drive in Explorer or file manager, using the right mouse button, call up the context menu of the free area and create a new text file with any name and permission “bat” (when renaming it, replace “txt” with “bat”).

1. Through its context menu text file call the “Change” command.

1. Insert the following line “attrib -s -h -r -a *.* /s /d” and close the text editor, saving the changes made.

1. Execute this file by double-clicking the left key and wait until the command line window closes.

As a result, the “Hidden” attribute will be removed for all objects located on the flash drive, and they will become visible without changing any settings.

Find hidden files

To find and display directories and files that have the “Hidden” attribute, call the Hidden File Finder program from the SecurityXploded team. It does not change absolutely any system settings. The program will only scan the specified directory or disk, filter all found files and folders by the “Hidden” attribute and display a list of found objects to which it is assigned. If you want to find data hidden by someone (photos, films and even catalogs) without changing Windows settings 7, install and launch Hidden File Finder.

1. In the main window, click on the directory icon with a green arrow and indicate the scanning source.

If you check the “Perform complete computer scan” option, the program will check all digital storage devices available to it.

1. If necessary, call up the application settings by clicking on the red button with a gear image, and exclude unnecessary objects from the search (shortcuts, empty files and directories).

1. Click “Start Scan”.

1. We are waiting for the procedure to complete. It will be marked by the appearance of an information window, which we close.

The window displays only those file system objects that are assigned the “Hidden” attribute. Moreover, the names of the catalogs are highlighted in blue.

Through the context menu of any object or their group, you can go to the selected directory, open a file, make it visible or delete it.

Choose the method that is most suitable for your case, because none of them is universal.

Video instruction

In the operating room Windows system there are hidden objects. They exist in fact, but they are not visible in the explorer. Accordingly, the user will not be able to accidentally delete, move or change them. Typically, such directories store system data. But if you need to view their contents, you won't be able to do it in the usual way. Let's figure out how to open hidden folders, adjust their visibility and “disguise” a separate directory.

This is what a hidden folder looks like

If suddenly ordinary objects that you created yourself “disappear” from your device, it’s possible that malicious software is to blame. software. In this case, you need to check the system with an antivirus, and not deal with the attributes.

If you know the path to an invisible directory, here's how to open hidden files:

• Go to “Start” - “Run”. Or press Win+R keys.

• In the input field, write the full path to the directory. The name of a specific object must be specified with an extension.
• Click OK.

Or another way:

1. Open any local drive. You can also launch the “My Computer” menu.
2. In the address bar at the top of the window, enter the path to the file or folder.

Visibility settings

Here's how to show hidden folders:

• Go to "Control Panel". It should be in the Start menu. If it's not there, you'll have to reconfigure it. Right-click on the taskbar, select “Properties”, “Start” tab and then “Settings”. In the list that opens, find “Control Panel” and set it to “Display”.
• Go to Folder Options. Window in the "Design and Personalization" category.
• View tab.
• Scroll down to the Hidden section.
• Place a marker next to "Show".
• Save your changes.
• If the object is still invisible, uncheck “Hide system files”.

Now you will be able to see hidden objects: they will be transparent and dim. This way you can distinguish them from regular directories.

There are several other ways to access this menu. These options are relevant for Windows version 7 and higher.

1. Open any directory.
2. Click on "Arrange" in the top left corner.
3. "Folder and Search Options."

1. Every directory has a menu bar. If it is not visible, hold down the Alt key.
2. In this line, click on “Service”.
3. “Folder Options” item.

It is not recommended to enable display if you just want to see what is inside the directory. Activate this option only if you need something specific. Files are hidden for a reason, but to protect the system.

Attributes

You learned how to show hidden folders. Now you can figure out how to hide a visible object:

1. Right-click on it.
2. "Properties".
3. Check the “Hidden” checkbox. If it's not there, it just doesn't fit. Click Other. The required attribute will be there.
4. "Apply."
5. To remove a parameter, on the contrary, uncheck the box.

Hide a folder in Windows

Command line

If files have become invisible due to a virus, you can remove attributes from them using commands.

1. Go to “Start” - “Programs” - “Accessories”.
2. Right-click on “Command Prompt”.
3. Select "As Administrator".
4. A window will open with a black background and white font.
5. Enter the command "sd [Path to hidden object]". Press Enter.
6. Write or copy the line “attrib -s -h -r -a /s /d *.*” without quotes there. All attributes will be removed.
7. The asterisks “*.*” indicate all possible names of objects with all possible formats.

Third party programs

To change the visibility of hidden directories in the Total Commander file manager, you must perform the following steps:

1. Open "Configuration".
2. "Settings".
3. Section "Contents of panels".
4. "Show hidden files" option.

Another popular manager is Unreal Commander:

1. Menu “Configurations” - “Settings”.
2. Go to the “View” section and the “Files” subsection.
3. Check all the boxes in the Display area.
4. Apply.

And for Nomad.NET:

1. "Tools".
2. "Options".
3. Security tab.
4. The option you need will be there.

To show hidden files, you just need to check one box in the folder options. You should not delete anything in directories that were originally hidden. They usually contain data reserved for system needs or important utilities.