Certain files in Windows are hidden from the user's view by default. This is usually to prevent tampering with files that can cause instability, but sometimes, access to these files is important, whether it's for troubleshooting steps or something else. Thankfully, viewing hidden files is fairly easy, especially in Windows 11.

Windows 10 and 11 make it easy to show hidden files, and you can use a couple of methods. Let's take a closer look.

How to show hidden files directly in File Explorer

In Windows 11

The easiest way to show hidden files on Windows 11 is inside File Explorer itself. Here's how it works:

1. Launch File Explorer.
2. Click View, then choose Show and select Hidden items.

Hidden items will now be visible in any folder you navigate to.

In Windows 10

On Windows 10, the process is slightly different but still very easy:

1. Open File Explorer
2. Switch to the View tab at the top.
3. Check the box that says Hidden items.

How to show hidden items using File Explorer options

Also works on older Windows versions

Another way to show hidden items in File Explorer is to use the options dialog, which is available on both Windows 10 and 11, plus some older versions. This also gives you the option to specifically see hidden system files, which you can't enable through the regular method above. To use this method, use the following steps:

1. Open File Explorer
2. Click the ... (ellipsis) button and choose Options.

   On Windows 10, switch to the View tab and click Options.

3. Switch to the View tab in this new window.
4. Enable the option called Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
5. You can also show specifically hidden system files by scrolling down and turning off the box labeled Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
6. Click OK to save your changes.

Be careful with system files

While showing hidden files can certainly be useful, items that are hidden by default are often that way for a reason. If you're messing around with these files, make sure you're not doing anything that could damage your computer or cause it to become unstable.

As you can tell, showing hidden folders is fairly easy, so if you really want to make sure no one can access your files, you may want to check out how to password-protect a folder.