How to open a folder in Windows 7. Finding hidden objects on your computer

These are folders that have the Hidden attribute set. Typically, folders with this attribute are not displayed in Explorer. In order to hidden folders started to appear, you need to make changes to the settings operating system. In this material you will learn how to show hidden folders in Windows 7.

In order to force the Windows 7 operating system to show hidden folders, we need to open any folder and press the ALT button on the keyboard.

After clicking on ALT key, under address bar A series of drop-down menus will appear: File, Edit, View, Tools and Help. Here we need to open the “Tools” drop-down menu and select “Folder Options”.

After this, a small window called “Folder Options” will open in front of you. In this window you can configure all the basic parameters that relate to the display of folders, files and drives in Windows Explorer 7.

It should be noted that if you are unable to open the “Folder Options” window through the drop-down menu, then you can use the search in. To do this, open the Start menu and type “Folder Options.” After this, the Windows 7 operating system will find the desired program and will offer to open it.

So, you have opened the “Folder Options” window, in order to show hidden folders in Windows 7 you need to go to the “View” tab and find the options that are responsible for displaying hidden folders.

You need two parameters:

"Hide protected system files» – it needs to be disabled;
"Show hidden files, folders and drives” – you need to enable it.

After making changes, close the window by clicking on the “OK” button to save the changes. After this, you will be able to see hidden folders and files. Now, if there is such a need, you can remove the “Hidden” attribute and the folder will become normal. To do this, right-click on the folder and select “Properties”. After that, disable the “Hidden” function and close the window.

Once you have cleared the “Hidden” attribute, you can disable the display of hidden folders. Further this folder will be displayed anyway.

Surely, every personal computer user sooner or later encountered such a phenomenon as disappearance some files or folders from a hard drive or other storage device. You cannot find them where they simply must be.

In such a situation, most ordinary PC users immediately have only one thought - someone deleted the data. However, their sudden disappearance may be associated with more than just this. Often they just invisible.

Later in the article we will look at the main ways to show hidden folders and files using the operating system as an example Windows 7(however, this will also work in XP, Vista, 7 and 8). But first, let’s tell you why such situations arise.

Attributes of files and folders or how data becomes hidden

As you know, any modern operating system has many options for managing files and folders. These are not only well-known operations for creating, deleting, copying and moving data, but also operations for setting them up. Each file or folder can be assigned a so-called attribute, responsible for certain properties of an object. For example, a file can be assigned an attribute such as " Read only", and the user will no longer be able to edit it, since the system itself will not allow him to do this.

These also include the attribute - “ Hidden" As the name suggests, it will make the object invisible. And if the system is not configured to display such objects, the user will not see elements hidden in this way.

Making files or folders invisible is quite simple. To do this you just need to go to properties the desired object and assign this attribute to it.

Let's try:

This suggests conclusion - Any user can make any element hidden.

But if I didn’t hide my files and folders and no one else uses my computer, what then?

If in your case any elements from the disk disappeared on their own, then the answer is obvious - virus programs were at work.

Unfortunately, manage attributes files can not only be used by users, but also any programs. There are many different ones on the Internet virus programs, which, once in the system, can do whatever they want with its settings and data stored on the disk. If in your case such viruses have hidden some of your folders or files, then do not worry - there are more of them can be returned.

There are many ways to open hidden folders in Windows 7. Let's look at the simplest of them.

Setting up the system

Every operating system (including all Windows versions from XP and even earlier to the 10th) has internal settings that are responsible for displaying any data stored on the disk and any other media. So, to make files and folders visible, you need to do the following:

This method is suitable if files and folders hidden on your computer only had the attribute “ Hidden" Usually when they are working viruses, they additionally make objects systemic, which will still be impossible to see even if you enable viewing in this way. To detect such files, in the menu " Folder Options"You need to additionally uncheck the box " Hide protected system files", as shown in the picture:

If you try to uncheck this item, the system will issue a warning that this is not recommended. It's okay - we just agree.

Unfortunately, and it doesn't always help, since some viruses can easily change system settings immediately after the user tries to enable or disable certain OS parameters. In such cases, programs that can “see” hidden objects come to the rescue. One of these is Total Commander . This file manager, very similar in functionality to the standard " Windows Explorer».

Using Total Commander

Finding this program on the Internet is not difficult. Although it is paid, you can use it for free for a while - this is more than enough to see all the hidden folders or files on the system.

To get started, download Total Commander and install the application. After launching it, you will see a window divided into two panels - they display the folders and files on the disk.

Initially, the program does not allow you to view hidden elements - you must enable this function. To do this, open the menu “ Configuration" (at the top of the window), and then click on the item " Setting...».

All that remains is to find the item “ Panel Contents" We go into it and put a tick on “ Show hidden files" And " Show system files", then click Apply. Now the program will see hidden objects.

In the image below, you may notice that some folders are displayed with a red " ! ».

These are the hidden folders.

Video on the topic

To save confidential information, PC users often use the hiding function. In the settings of folders (files) an attribute is set that hides them from prying eyes. If option , 7, 8 is enabled, then invisible objects will become visible and they will have a pale tint.

Using someone else's computer, you will probably want to search for classified information, for example, find out where personal photos or videos, secret documents and other information of interest are located. In the instructions, we'll see how to find a hidden folder on a computer in Windows 7, (10, 8) via standard means OS (on the desktop and in Explorer), specialized software.

Search for hidden elements using standard OS tools

To search for hidden folders (files) in Windows, you must enable their display. For eight and ten, follow these steps:

For seven, do this:

Note: The Folder Options window is also available in Windows 10, 8. In Explorer, click Options on the View tab.

Open File Explorer, if necessary, go to the desired section hard drive(for example, drive C) or the desired directory, since the search works where you are. To find hidden files and folders in Windows, place your cursor in the search area. Enter part or all of the name and wait until the search ends. Windows 10, 8 has a lot of filters: size, type, modification date, and others.

Windows 7 also has a set of filters, but it is more limited: modification date, size. In addition to entering the name, you can use a construction like: *.docx or similar. This way you will find all office files Microsoft Word. The logic should be clear. Pay attention only to pale elements.

Finding hidden objects through programs

There are special programs for searching and processing invisible directories and files. These applications include: Find Hidden, Hidden File Finder, which we will consider below.

Find Hidden is a portable, free software that allows you to quickly find hidden folders (as well as files) on your Windows computer. Follow these steps:

Download the program. Extract from the archive.
Run executable file, wait. Accept license agreement by pressing ACCEPT.
In the System Tools setting, select the type of elements you are looking for, these are regular objects and system protected ones.
Specify the search location (for example, drive C). Choose what to find: files (Hidden Files Only) or folders (Hidden Directories Only). If the Hidden Files Only search mode is selected, you can specify a specific extension, size, and date (created, modified, opened). In Hidden Directories Only search mode, you can set the date. After setting the parameters, click on Search.
The program will start searching for invisible Windows elements. You will see how many objects have been scanned and how many invisible ones have been found. A list of folders (files) with their descriptions will appear in the window. After a complete scan of the directory, you can perform various operations with hidden files and folders by right-clicking: view properties, location, change attributes, and more.
Hidden File Finder is free program For quick scan and detecting all invisible objects in Windows system. To find hidden folders (files) in Windows, follow these steps:
These are the ways you can find a hidden folder on your computer in Windows 10 (7, 8) or required file. The first method is suitable if you know what you are looking for, and the second gives full list all invisible elements, which makes it easier to find the information you need.

In OS Windows 7, the administrator is given a wide range of actions with system folders and files in order to ensure information security so that protected information is not visible to other users. But in some cases there is a need to provide access to classified information. And the question becomes relevant: how to open hidden folders in Windows 7? After all, each operating system has its own peculiarities of manipulating files and folders, and its own security nuances as well.

Hidden files and folders in OS Windows 7

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OS Windows 7 has the concepts of “attributes” and “parameters”. Depending on the attribute and parameter values set in the system, some information elements can be made invisible or visible. As a rule, system administrators make folders with important system files and files or folders with confidential information. Such storage media are assigned the “hidden” attribute. Then the desired result - the invisibility of a folder or file - is achieved by enabling the “Do not show hidden files, folders and drives” option in the computer controls.

Change the values of settings and/or attributes that affect the display of files and folders.

The procedure for making a hidden folder appear in the list of computer contents:

enter the main menu: the call occurs when you press the “Start” button;
Select the “Control Panel” item in the menu and open its contents;
in the “View” menu, which is located at the top right, click on the “▼” button and for easier searching, select “Large icons”;

find the “Folder Options” shortcut and open the menu for this item;
in the window that opens, go to the “View” tab;
in the list of parameters, find the item “Show hidden folders, files and drives” and check the box to enable the mode.

This list also contains other parameters for displaying files and folders; by enabling/disabling you can adjust the following:

Hide protected system files.
Hide empty drives in the My Computer menu.
Hide extensions of registered files.

Good day, dear visitors of the blog site. Our topic today is about Windows, let's answer the question - .

Inexperienced users personal computers, switching to Windows 7, they encounter problems when working with the new interface. This is due to the fact that they tried to simplify shell management as much as possible.

Some controls have disappeared from the usual appearance for Windows users XP. Many users, for example, do not understand how to display or, conversely, hide some files and folders. I will try to explain how this can be done quickly enough, taking less than a minute.

There are several options for how to open access to hidden files and folders in Windows 7.

First option

Second option

It's very similar to the first one. The way to display "Folder Options" is different here:

The third option is easier than the second

We also get through the Start menu to the Control Panel.
At the top, under the address bar, you will find a “View: Category” switch. Click on it and select the “Large Icons” option.
In the alphabetical list of shortcuts we find the “Folder Options” icon
Now we find ourselves in the window we are already familiar with, where we select the “View” tab. Scroll down the parameters. Select "Show hidden files". Confirm your actions with the “Ok” button.

After all the manipulations, invisible files and folders will be available to you, both on the hard drive and on the flash drive. To hide files or folders again you need to disable this option by unchecking this checkbox in additional parameters and don’t forget to click “Apply” and “OK”.

These are the methods and options for opening and hiding folders on Windows 7 that we looked at, I hope the article was useful to you, if so, then share it with your friends.