How to Open Hidden Files on Windows 10?

Open Hidden Files on Windows 10:

Do you wish to know how to open hidden files on Windows 10? If yes, then this is where you can learn how to do so. You may feel the need of opening hidden files on Windows 10 because of viruses and malware.

A lot of people claim that a hidden file has infected their system. It is recommended to keep some files hidden in a folder in order to keep them away from cybercriminals. Nevertheless, you may need to access them at any point of time. If you wish to learn how to open hidden files on Windows 10, then read ahead.

Here, we have mentioned different methods to open hidden files on Windows 10. 

1) Use Control Panel

Step 1: Press the Windows key on your keyboard and then type Control. After that, open Control Panel. 

Step 2: Choose the option of Appearance and personalization. 

Step 3: After that, select File Explorer Options. 

Step 4: Now, from the File Explorer option window, select the View tab, After that, search for the Files and Folder category. 

Step 5: There, you will see two options. The first option is Don't show hidden files, folders, or drives and the other option is show hidden files, folders, and drives. 

Step 6: If you select the option of not showing the file, all the files and folders will be kept hidden in the hidden attributes. 

Step 7: If you decide to view them, then you will be able to see and open hidden files. 

Step 8: Select OK. Now, test your hidden files and check if they are still hidden. If you don't see the program data folder, then that means the files are still hidden.

So, these are all the simple steps that you need to perform to show or hide hidden files by going to the Control Panel. 

2) Use Windows Settings

Step 1: Press the Windows key and then select the option of show hidden files. Then, select the first result from the search results. 

Step 2: Go to the right side of your opened window and search for the option of "Change settings to show hidden and system files" from the file explorer section. After that, select Show settings. 

Step 3: Now, ensure that the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option is checked. 

Step 4: After that, go down and then uncheck the option of "Hide protected operating system files". 

Step 5: Click on Yes to confirm the changes. 

3) Use Command Prompt

Below are the simple steps that you need to perform to open hidden files on Windows 10 using command prompt. 

Step 1: Press the Windows key on your keyboard and then type cmd. After that, select the first result you see on the screen and then click on the option "Run as administrator". 

Step 2: Now, anotDesktop|MyDocher window will open up. Enter the command dir /  ah and then press the enter key. 

Step 3: If you don't know whether the folder has the hidden files you need or not, then you need to run a hidden file scan on your system. 

Step 4: For this, enter cs in the command prompt window. After that, press the space bar and then enter the complete path of the folder. After that, press the Enter key. 

Step 5: After that, you need to run the command dir   / ah   /s. 

4) Use PowerShell

Carry out the simple steps mentioned below to access PowerShell. 

Step 1: Press the Windows key on your keyboard and then enter PowerShell. After that, launch the PowerShell app by clicking on it. 

Step 2: Now, a window will open up where you need to enter the command cd C:\Users\USER\Desktop\My Documents. 

Step 3: After you run the command mentioned above, please ensure that you mention the complete path of the folder. 

Step 4: Then, to reveal the hidden folders and files. Enter dir  -force and then press the Enter key.