Hidden documents of the system mean those directories that are not displayed when the computer is running. The purpose of such a "conspiracy" is to preserve important for the operation of elements that can be accidentally deleted by the user.
This article will talk about how to make hidden folders visible. The methods will be described for the 7th and 10th versions of the Windows operating system.
Types
In this operating system, there are two categories of hidden documentation:
- Just hidden elements. Their attribute is set to Hidden. In this way, you can hide any elements by changing the state in the properties.
Attention! But sometimes, in this way folders and documents containing viruses can be hidden!
- System folders and files. The S attribute is present in their properties. This means that they are system elements and their removal or modification may lead to an error in the computer. Their contents can only be displayed using the options below.
How to perform the procedure on Windows 7
This kind of operating system is quite popular compared to the rest. And therefore, it will be logical to start with it. So how do you make hidden folders visible?
- Go to the Start panel and launch Explorer. Two standard lists appear.
- You need to activate the line "Control Panel".
- Go to the subsection called “Appearance and Personalization”.
Attention! To make the search convenient, you need to set the display of sections by category.
- After going inside the personalization settings system, you need to find a paragraph with the name “Folder Options”.
- Activate the option to show hidden system elements. Before making hidden folders visible, you need to change a couple of important details.
- After clicking on the line for displaying hidden elements, the settings window will open. It will be called Folder Options.
- Now you need to move to the subsection under the name "View" and in the line about hidden files and folders to allow their display.
Additional way
Another much simpler option on how to make hidden folders visible in the Windows 7 operating system:
- Open any directory.
- In the upper part of the window, activate the section called "Arrange".
- Select the line "Folder and search options."
- As soon as a new window appears, launch the “View” subsection and activate the “Apply to folders” line. Thus, hidden directories can be made visible both in this section and in all others.
How to display hidden folders on Windows 10
Fairly simple way. Allows you to display only part of the hidden documentation.
- Through the Start panel, you need to launch Explorer.
- Next, go to any directory and activate the “View” tab, on the top line under the window name.
- In the subsection that opens, set the marker in the field next to the "Hidden Elements" function.
Additional way
This paragraph will tell you how to make hidden folders visible through the options in Explorer.
- First you need to call the search bar. This is done using the keyboard shortcut Win + Q.
- In the window that appears, enter "Explorer Options".
- After going to this section, you need to open a tab called "View".
- Mark the line allowing the demonstration of hidden elements.
- It is also recommended that you enable the display of system directories. To do this, remove the marker in front of the line responsible for hiding system documentation.
- In the warning that appears, confirm your choice.
How to return a hidden folder
In the event that the folder was hidden by the user, and its location was lost, you must:
- Launch a window with the directory in which the document is located.
- In the top line, activate the "Arrange" section. In the context menu that appears, click on "Search Options".
- As soon as the window appears, switch to the tab called “View”. Activate the display line of hidden files and folders.
- Apply changes.
Summary
As you may have noticed, displaying hidden files and hiding your own documents in the same way is quite simple. The above algorithms will help not only to find any important components of the system, but also to hide their own documents from outsiders.