On Windows 10, sometimes, you may need to access hidden files and folders to change system or app settings. Usually, these items are hidden to avoid clutter or prevent accidental deletion of important components that may corrupt the operating system.

If you want to see hidden files and folders, Windows 10 offers many ways to complete this task using File Explorer, Command Prompt, and even PowerShell.

This guide will teach you the easy steps to show hidden items on Windows 10.

  • Show hidden files on Windows 10
  • Show hidden files with Command Prompt on Windows 10
  • Show hidden files with PowerShell on Windows 10

Show hidden files on Windows 10

To show hidden files in File Explorer on Windows 10, use these steps:

  • Open File Explorer on Windows 10.
  • Click on the View tab.
  • Under the “Show/hide” section, check the Hidden items option.

Once you complete the steps, File Explorer will show the hidden and unhidden items, but it’ll continue to hide other protected files. 

Open File Explorer on Windows 10.

Click on the View tab.

Under the “Show/hide” section, check the Hidden items option.

Show hidden protected operating system files

To see hidden protected operating system files on Windows 10, use these steps:

  • Open File Explorer.
  • Click on the View tab.
  • Click the Options button.
  • Click the View tab.
  • Under the “Advanced settings” section, check the Show hidden, folders, and drives option.
  • Clear the Hide protected operating system files option.
  • Click the Apply button.
  • Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, you will now be able to see hidden files and protected Windows 10 files within File Explorer.

Open File Explorer.

Click the Options button.

Click the View tab.

Under the “Advanced settings” section, check the Show hidden, folders, and drives option. 

Clear the Hide protected operating system files option. 

Click the Apply button.

Click the OK button.

Show hidden files with Command Prompt on Windows 10

To display hidden files and folders while in Command Prompt, use these steps:

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the  Run as administrator option.
  • Type the following command to list hidden files for the location and press Enter:
  • dir /adh

When working with the dir command, you can display hidden content in several ways using the following switches:

Open Start.

Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the  Run as administrator option.

Type the following command to list hidden files for the location and press Enter:

dir /adh

  • /a – only shows hidden folders.
  • /a:d – only shows all directories.
  • /a:h – only shows all hidden files.
  • /adh – shows a combination of the options above.

After you complete the steps, the command will allow you to see hidden files and folders while in Command Prompt without changing the File Explorer settings.

Show hidden files with PowerShell on Windows 10

You can also see a list of hidden and protected operating system files with PowerShell with these steps:

  • Open Start.
  • Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  • Type the following command to view all the hidden files and folders for the location and press Enter:
  • dir -Force

Once you complete the steps, the command will show hidden files and folders, but it will not change the folder options in File Explorer.

Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

Type the following command to view all the hidden files and folders for the location and press Enter:

dir -Force

This guide focuses on Windows 10, but this feature has been available for a long time, so the steps will also work on Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and older versions.