Tip of the Week: How to Hide Files in Windows 10

If your desktop is a mess from countless files strewn about it, perhaps you’ll find today’s tip helpful. We will walk you through how you can hide certain files on your desktop so they don’t clutter it up needlessly, all by using the built-in functionality of Windows 10. Let’s discuss how you can hide folders from your desktop or Documents view.

Before we dive into the details, we just want to mention that this is not the best way to optimize file security, as anyone with passable computing knowledge and experience can find the settings and make it viewable once again. If you want to make your files more secure, we can help introduce you to specific solutions.

Anyways, let’s go over how you can hide your files in Windows 10.

Hiding a File from View in Windows 10

To use the built-in functionality of Windows 10, you need to understand that this is not the most secure way of hiding files. It is mostly a personal preference to hide files from your view so that they don’t get in the way.

To hide a folder, go to your File Explorer and locate the folder you want to hide. Once you have it, right-click it and select Properties. You’ll see a checkbox toward the bottom of the options labeled Hidden. Check this box and you’ll see that the folder is hidden from view. This doesn’t secure the folder, but it does remove it from your field of vision.

To bring the folder back, you’ll have to click on the View menu from the File Explorer screen. You can then check the Hidden Items box to show any hidden items you may have wanted to keep hidden away. From here, you just follow the same process outlined above to reverse the process; go to the Properties menu and uncheck the Hidden setting.

If you want a more secure way of keeping your files safe, KB Technologies Managed IT can certainly help in this effort. To learn more about what we can do for your business, give us a call today at (954) 834-2800.