Showing Hidden Files and Folders on Windows 10

Q

How to see hidden files and folders on Windows 10? I was told "C:\Users\<userid>\AppData" is hidden folder. But I want to see what in that folder.

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A

By default, Windows 10 marks a number of important files and folders as hidden to prevent you changing or deleting them accidentally.

There are two ways to see hidden files and folders:

1. Using the "dir /ad" command in a command window. For example, if your user ID is john, you can run the following command to see all hidden files and folders:

C:\>cd users
C:\Users>cd john
C:\Users\john>
C:\Users\john>dir > dir.txt
03/12/2017  08:41 AM    <DIR>          Contacts
04/06/2017  10:06 AM    <DIR>          Desktop
04/14/2017  03:32 PM    <DIR>          Documents
04/15/2017  10:36 AM    <DIR>          Downloads
03/16/2017  09:30 AM    <DIR>          Favorites
03/12/2017  08:41 AM    <DIR>          Links
03/12/2017  08:41 AM    <DIR>          Music
04/14/2017  03:15 PM    <DIR>          Pictures
...

C:\Users\john>dir /ad > hidden.txt
01/05/2017  11:23 AM    <DIR>          AppData
01/05/2017  11:23 AM    <JUNCTION>     Application Data [C:\Users\...]
03/12/2017  08:41 AM    <DIR>          Contacts
01/05/2017  11:23 AM    <JUNCTION>     Cookies [C:\Users\...]
04/06/2017  10:06 AM    <DIR>          Desktop
04/14/2017  03:32 PM    <DIR>          Documents
04/15/2017  10:36 AM    <DIR>          Downloads
03/16/2017  09:30 AM    <DIR>          Favorites
03/12/2017  08:41 AM    <DIR>          Links
01/05/2017  11:23 AM    <JUNCTION>     Local Settings [C:\Users\...]
03/12/2017  08:41 AM    <DIR>          Music
01/05/2017  11:23 AM    <JUNCTION>     My Documents [C:\Users\...]
04/14/2017  03:15 PM    <DIR>          Pictures
...

2. Turning on "Show hidden files, folders and drives" in Folder Options in Windows Explorer.

On Windows Explorer, click "View" tab. Then click on "Options" icon. You see the Folder Options dialog box.

Click "View" tab and turn on "Show hidden files, folders and drives" option

Click "Apply to Folders". You should see all hidden files in all folders now.

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