There are a lot of ways that will allow a person to hide the files that he thinks should be protected or secured. In accordance to this, there are also a variety of methods that one can practice today so that he can show hidden files. These files can either be documents, presentations and even an Excel file. Let us say that you have hidden a file so that anyone who touches your computer will not be able to edit or just make some changes on your file. In order for you to show the file that you have concealed from the other users, you can try the steps that are given on this article.

The first thing that you have to do is to open the folder where you have hidden the file and then click on the Tools menu. Then, you can choose the option that says “Folder Options.” A box will appear where you can click on the View tab and then on the Advanced Settings, find the “Show hidden files and folders.” Click on that one and then apply the changes that you have made.

However, if you are using Windows Vista, this may prove to be trickier than other Windows versions. The best way to access the settings for Folder Options is to go to Control Panel. Nevertheless, you can still use the menu item for Folder Options when you are in the folder where the files are located but you have to hold the ALT key for a while longer so that the said menu will appear.

Windows Vista users have found that they have some problems accessing this menu item. So the proper way in order to show hidden files in your system is to first close the programs that are currently open on your computer. Then you can click the Start button or press the Window key on your keyboard. When it goes up, you can choose the Control Panel option. Take note that you can have two options about how you can see the menus in this selection: Classic or Control Panel Home.

In the former, what you have to do is to double click the Folder Options icon. Now, you will have to perform the steps that have been given above. On the other hand, if you are suing the Control Panel Home view, you can click on the link that says “Appearance and personalization.” Then click on the radio button for “Show hidden files and folders.” Make sure that you have unchecked the checkbox for the option “Hide extensions for known file types.” You can also remove the checkmark (if there is) on the box named “Hide protected operating system files.” You can press the OK button. This will help solve your problems on how to show hidden files in your system.

Now, you can work on the files that you have hidden before. You can also opt to unhide the documents or other file types that you have put out of sight before by right clicking on the file and then clear the checkbox for “Hidden.”

By: Sam Miller