There are some items that are meant to remain private to the owner. On PCs, such items must stay hidden. If you have files or folders on your Windows 10 system that you want to hide, then carry on reading to find out how to easily hide them. In this guide, you will learn how to hide files and folders from unwanted eyes. This procedure can also be seen as an advantage that improves your security measures.
There are many reasons to keep your content hidden in your system. Just like there are some precious things you don’t want people to see in your house, on your PC, there are also some important documents, videos, and images to keep away from prying eyes. Even if you don’t have anything to hide, there are some items you don’t want to be accidentally deleted by someone else, hence the need to keep them under wraps.
Regardless of the reason, you can successfully hide files and folders in a couple of ways via File Explorer or Command Prompt. In this guide, we will show you several steps that you can easily follow to successfully hide files and folders using either File Explorer or Command Prompt. However, before addressing the elephant in the room, let’s first highlight some important points.
What Is the Purpose of Hiding Files in Windows?
The general method of hiding files or folders in Windows is well known, and you don’t need to be a top technician to figure it out. With that said, it also doesn’t take a genius to show hidden files on File Explorer. That means that applying the easiest method that every Jack and Jill knows is as good as hiding behind your finger. Therefore, mastering the ultimate method of hiding files and folders within your PC can enhance your security. To top that, guest users are not able to tamper with your important files if they are properly hidden. If you have a file that is encrypted, hiding it will keep it extra safe. So, after you’ve applied any of the methods outlined below, if an intruder is to have physical access to your PC, hidden or encrypted files won’t be visible.
How to Hide Files in Windows 10
In this guide, not only will you learn how to hide files and folders, but you will also master the steps of accessing those hidden files and folders. We will outline the two main methods of hiding things, which include using File Explorer and Command Prompt.
How to Hide Files and Folders through File Explorer
This is the easiest way of hiding your important files and folders. All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
1. Access File Explorer.
2. Search for the file or folder you wish to hide.
3. Right-click on it and select Properties.
4. Navigate to the General tab and then check the Hidden option under the Attributes category.
5. Select Apply.
a) If the folder you are hiding contains multiple files and subfolders, you should click on the option Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files.
b) Select OK once you have completed step a.
6. Finally, click OK to complete the process.
Once the process has been completed, your hidden files and folders will automatically go into hiding because Windows 10 doesn’t show hidden files by default.
To access the hidden content, you must navigate to File Explorer and type the exact path to the hidden content, then press Enter. For instance, if the hidden file you want to access is labelled Important File, then your path will be C:\Users\admin\desktop\Files\Important File.
Alternatively, you can access File Explorer and select the View tab. On the panel, make sure to check the Hidden items option. Your hidden files will appear in faded highlight. At this moment, you can browse within your hidden files as you would normally do with any other content that’s not hidden. Upon completing your session, you can go back to the View panel and uncheck the Hidden items option to make the files invisible again.
How to Hide Windows 10 Folders and Files Using Command Prompt
Another way of hiding files and folders includes the use of Command Prompt. Follow these steps to successfully hide your files and folders:
1. Access the Windows search bar next to the Start Menu.
2. Type Command Prompt and click on the matching app that appears in the results window. Alternatively, you can press the Win + R combo to open the Run window. Type cmd and click Enter.
3. Enter the following command to access the file or folder you wish to hide and then press Enter (note that after typing “cd”, you must replace the rest with the actual path to the file or folder you want to hide):
cd C:\Users\admin\Desktop\Files
4. Type this command to hide your file or folder and then press Enter:
attrib +h “Important Files”
Note that in the command line above, you should replace “Important Files” with the actual name of the folder or file you wish to hide. Quotes are only necessary if the name has spaces.
In case the folder that you want to hide contains subfolders and files, you should follow this procedure:
1. While in the Command Prompt window, type the following command and hit Enter to browse within the hidden folder:
Cd “Important Files”
Don’t forget to replace the “Important Files” text in the command line with the actual name of the hidden folder.
2. Insert the following command line and press Enter to hide all the files and folders contained within the hidden folder:
Attrib +h /s /d
Upon completing the process, your content will not be visible anymore.
How to View Hidden Files and Folders
If you want to access your hidden content, you can do so by following these steps:
1. Access the Command Prompt as illustrated in the sections above.
2. Type the following command line into the window and press Enter to navigate to the location of the content you have hidden:
cd C:\Users\admin\Desktop\Files
Replace the text after “cd” with the actual path to the hidden file or folder you wish to access.
Type the below command line to make your file or folder visible and then press Enter:
Attrib -h “Important Files”
Remember to replace the “Important Files” text with the actual name of the folder or file you want to make visible.
If the hidden folder contains hidden files and subfolders, then you should do the following steps:
1. In the next command line, type the following command and press Enter:
cd “Important Files”
Replace the “Important Files” text with the actual name of the hidden folder.
2. Insert the following command line and press Enter to cancel the hidden attribute for all the subfolders and files within the folder: Attrib -h /s /d
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