Microsoft has learned a thing or two over the past couple of years, and one of them is that it has always been difficult to view file extensions and hidden files in previous versions of Windows.
You had to go to the folder and search options and check the boxes there. Then when you were done, you had to go back and do it again.
Fortunately, in Windows 10, Microsoft has made it easier to display file extensions and hidden files. Here’s how.
Show file extensions in Windows 10 Explorer
Open File Explorer in Windows 10 and navigate to the folder where you want to see file extensions or hidden files.
By default, you will see a Home tab where you can perform common tasks with files and folders such as copy, paste, move, delete, rename, create a new folder, and more. Click the View tab.
To the right of the View ribbon, you’ll see a Show / Hide panel. Here you can simply check the File name extensions box to display the file extensions.
You can also simply select a file or multiple files and click the Hide Selected Items button to hide files and folders in Windows 10. To see hidden items, simply check the Hidden Items box and you will see hidden items.
Note that when you display hidden items in Explorer, hidden operating system files are not displayed. If you want to see all hidden files, including protected system files, you need to click the Options button and click Change Folder and Search Options.
Then go to the View tab, scroll down to the Hide protected system files section and uncheck the box. You will see a pop-up warning that it is not safe to show protected system files.
That’s all! Windows 10 makes it easy to access these features that many people use quite often. Enjoy!
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