How to bring up or show hidden files on my Windows 7/8/10 PC

Even on our computers it can happen; that we hide files, for safety or by mistake. Being in this state we don't have them with the naked eye, but we will definitely need them at some point. If you don't remember how make these hidden files appear or show on your Windows 7/8/10 PC, we want to help you. You will find them very easily.

The same it can happen in other operating systems. We can have hidden files on Mac or Linux, but you can always show hidden files on your Mac with a context menu or show hidden files on Linux terminal. Today you will learn how to view them in Windows.




Show hidden files in Windows 7

For this OS we went to the start button to find the option "Control panel". Once this area is open, let's look at where it says “Appearance and Personalization” and click on it a couple of times.

Now we will have a dialog box in front where we will select “Folder Options”, we will double click on it. The PC will give us more options to change folders.

What interests us is the option “Show hidden files and folders " and click on it. Once this is done, we just accept! When we search for the document we will see how its icon will be visible and we will be able to open it to read it, modify it or send it to anyone else.

How to bring up or show hidden files on my Windows 7/8/10 PC

Apply this option in Windows 8 and 10

If we have the version for Windows 8, first choose the “Desktop” option. For Windows 10 we press the "Start" button. We search and mark the "Control Panel" area and search "Appearance and personalization". Now choose "Folder Options" and click on the "Options" icon located on the right side of the tab.



A folder options dialog opens and we click on the "View" tab. We select "Show hidden files, folders and drives" and may ignore the "Hide file selections for known file types" option.


This way we make sure we see any hidden documents. Having done that, we can only accept it so that our files appear where they are.

Hide files for anyone to review

What we need to do is repeat the previous steps, but this time we will select the option "Do not show hidden files, folders or drives". So that upon acceptance, the folder or file will be hidden.

It will still be possible access these files typing its name in the file browser window. It should be noted that this functionality can be changed at any time.

How to bring up or show hidden files on my Windows 7/8/10 PC

It should also be remembered that for hide a document for the first time, hover over it and click the right mouse button to display a tab. There we look for "Properties" and basically we will have the choice "Hidden". We report only on the box that we give "Apply" and then we accept.

In this way the file will no longer be visible. When we view it, it will appear in a transparency type icon to remind us that it is in "Hidden" condition.


It's that simple to make hidden files appear or show on our Windows 7/8/10 PC. Our memory will no longer be able to let us have a bad time not remembering what we did with a document. We might as well keep those important files safe and available just for us.


The topic of hidden files doesn't end there. Well, it is also good to know how to show hidden files from viruses in Windows, to prevent such attacks. And for our daily life, it is advisable to know a little bit about how to search and find all hidden or lost photos on my PC.


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