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In this post, we will show you how you can make your files or folders Hidden or Read only on Windows 11/10 PC. When you set a file as Hidden, folks will not be able to see the file or folder. When you set a file to be Read only, folks will be able to read the file but they will not be able to make changes and save them.
Hidden Files are any files with the ‘Hidden’ attribute in the Properties turned on. These files are hidden because they are usually important operating system-related files. These files are hidden from the normal view so that they do not get changed or deleted. While the Hidden attribute can be applied to files and folders, the Read only attribute applies to files inside a folder only.
To set the attributes of the File or Folder to Hidden, follow these steps:
- Locate the file
- Right-click on it
- Under Attributes, select Hidden.
- The file will get hidden.
To see it again, you can use this method to show Hidden files.
You should know one thing. If the checkbox shows a square inside, the Folder’s Properties, it means that some items inside are Hidden or Read only and some not.
A blank checkbox indicates that none of the items have that attribute, whereas a checkmark indicates that that file or all the files in the folder have that attribute.
Make a file Read only in Windows 11/10
To set the attributes of the File or Folder to Read only, follow these steps:
- Locate the file
- Right-click on it
- Under Attributes, select Read only.
- The file will now be Read only and changes made will not get saved.
You will, however, be able to save this file with a different name.
Clicking on the Advanced button, as shown above in the first image, will open another box that allows you to compress or encrypt files and archive or index items.
I hope this basic tutorial helps you.
Can we lock a folder in Windows 11/10?
Yes, you can lock a file or a folder in Windows 11/10. For this, you can use some free folder encryption software that first encrypts your item and then let you set a custom password to lock it. Or else, you can use a script and create a BAT file to password protect folders without using third-party tools.
How to restrict users from deleting files and folders in Windows 11/10?
The best way to protect a file or folder from deletion in Windows 11/10 is by changing the security permissions. You can Deny a user from Full Control, Modify, Read, Write, and other permissions for a file or folder, and then that user account won’t be able to delete it. You first need to Disable inheritance for the file/folder and then you can access and edit the deny permissions for a user.
Now read: How to list all the Hidden files & folders on your Windows computer.
Disha is an MBA who loves to dabble with computers. Her love for Windows and Office has now compelled her to start blogging here with us.
Sometimes, the best way to keep sensitive information concealed from prying eyes is to hide it in the open. We’ll show you easy ways to hide folders in Windows 7, 10, and 11.
Disclaimer: None of these solutions will effectively hide your data from experienced users. For truly sensitive and confidential data, we recommend encrypting files and folders or storing them on a password-protected USB drive.
1. Hide Folders
Windows offers an easy way to quickly hide folders from unsuspecting eyes. This method requires that Windows does not show hidden files and folders, so let’s make sure that’s the case.
- Open File Explorer (any folder) and navigate to Folder Options. Windows 10: View > Options > Change folder and search options Windows 11: See more > Options
- Within Folder Options switch to the View tab.
- Under Files and Folders find the option Hidden files and folders and select Don’t show hidden files, folders, or drives.
- Click OK.
Once Windows is set to conceal hidden files and folders, you can go ahead and hide a folder.
- Right-click the folder you want to hide and select Properties.
- In the General tab, check the option called Hidden.
- Then click the Advanced button to change Archive and Index attributes; you might want to block indexing of the folder contents.
- Optional: Under Advanced Attributes, check the Encrypt contents to secure data option.
- Click OK to save your changes.
When you need to access your hidden folder, go through folder options to temporarily make hidden folders visible. Obviously, this is a little inconvenient. To take a shortcut and hide or unhide several folders at once, you can use the tool Free Hide Folder. It can hide and unhide selected folders, given the folder options are set to not show hidden files and folders.
Although access to this tool is protected by a password, it does reveal that there are hidden folders somewhere and advanced users will find them with ease.
2. Make Folders Invisible
When you make your folder invisible, rather than hiding them, you won’t have to go through folder options to unhide your folder. On the downside, someone may discover your invisible folder by accident.
To make an invisible folder, you have to do two things: remove the folder name and make the folder icon transparent.
To clear the folder name in Windows 7:
- Select the folder and press F2.
- Then hold the ALT key while typing the numbers 0160 using the number pad.
- Hit Enter and the folder name should be gone.
The above method doesn’t seem to work in Windows 10 or 11.
To remove the folder name in Windows 10 or 11:
- Select a desktop folder and press F2 (to rename it).
- Then right-click the existing name and choose Insert Unicode control character.
- From the list, select NADS.
- Finally, click any empty spot on the desktop.
To make the folder icon invisible:
- Right-click your folder and select Properties.
- Switch to the Customize tab and click the Change Icon… button.
- You can find several blank icons in the default Windows icon collection. Select one, click OK, then click Apply in the Properties window. This might require a couple of tries until you succeed.
If the invisible folder sits on your desktop, make sure it’s along the edge of the screen and towards the right side. This will decrease the chance of it being found by chance. Note that anyone can still access the folder, given they find it. For example, clicking CTRL+A will select and highlight all files and folders, including invisible ones.
3. Hide a Drive in Windows
Hiding an entire drive is probably the best option if you want to avoid accidental discovery.
- Press the Windows key, type Disk Management, and hit Enter.
- Right-click the drive you’d like to hide and select Change Drive Letter and Paths…
- Select the drive letter and click Remove.
- A warning will pop up, click Yes.
When you now head into File Explorer > This PC, you won’t be able to locate the drive under Devices and drives.
If you’d like to make the drive visible again, follow the steps above up until step 3, then, in the Change Drive Letter and Paths window, click Add… to re-assign a drive letter.3 Quick & Easy Ways to Hide a Folder in Windows 7
4. Use the Command Prompt to Hide Files and Folders
If you’re comfortable using the command prompt, this may be the best method for you. It’s definitely the most effective one, short of using encryption or a third-party tool.
- Press Windows + R to launch the Run menu.
- Enter cmd and hit Enter.
- Navigate to your target folder or file using the CD and DIR commands.
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To hide a file or folder, use the following command:
attrib +h "replace this with target file or directory name" -
To show a hidden file or folder, type this command:
attrib -h "replace this with target file or directory name"
After using the command in step 4, check for your file or folder using the File Explorer; you won’t be able to find the hidden item. Even when you go back to the command prompt and run the DIR command, it should have disappeared from the list. Yet, when you run the command in step 5, it’ll magically reappear.
5. Hide Folders With My Lockbox
My Lockbox is a third-party utility to lock and hide folders. When you first launch the tool, you need to create a password. Next, you can assign a Lockbox folder.
In the free version, you’re limited to one hidden folder, although you can change the folder anytime. When you launch My Lockbox, you can lock (hide) and unlock (unhide) your Lockbox folder. Unlike Free Folder Hide, My Lockbox will also hide your folder when the folder options are set to show hidden files, folders, and drives.
In the My Lockbox Control Panel, you can access additional options, for example, to set trusted applications allowed to access your folder or to create hotkeys.
Keep Your Data Safe
The safest way to secure and hide your data is to encrypt it. Professional versions of Windows come with BitLocker, but you can also use a free third-party utility like VeraCrypt.
When you need to remotely access your data from multiple different devices or locations, consider secure cloud storage.
Quick Links
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Use File Explorer’s «Hidden» Option
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Password Protect Your Files or Folders
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Using a Free Third-Party App to Hide Files
If you want to keep certain files and folders out of people’s sight, it’s possible to hide those items on your Windows 11 PC. You have both built-in and third-party methods to do that, and I’ll show you both.
An easy way to hide files and folders without using third-party tools is by using File Explorer. You can utilize this file manager’s “Hidden” option that hides the selected items from the view. However, note that this method isn’t foolproof. If someone enables the viewing of hidden items, they can see your hidden files and folders.
That said, to use this method, launch File Explorer (press Windows+E) and find the file or folder to hide. Right-click the file or folder and select «Properties.»
On the Properties window, open the «General» tab if you aren’t already there. In the Attributes section, enable the «Hidden» option. Then, select «Apply» followed by «OK.»
Your chosen item is now hidden. If you’ve hidden a folder, all the files and subfolders in that folder are also hidden.
To view or unhide your hidden file or folder, make File Explorer show hidden items. To do that, open File Explorer, click the three dots at the top, and choose «Options.» Access the «View» tab, turn on the «Show Hidden Files, Folders, and Drives» option, and choose «Apply» followed by «OK.»
You’ll now see your hidden items. To unhide an item so it’s always visible, right-click the item and choose «Properties.» Disable the «Hidden» option and select «Apply» followed by «OK.»
Utilize Command Prompt
If you like running commands, use a command in Command Prompt to hide your files and folders. To do that, open Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Command Prompt, and select «Run as Administrator.» Choose «Yes» in the User Account Control prompt.
In Command Prompt, type the following command. Replace «PATH» with the full path to the folder where the file or folder you want to hide is located. Then, press Enter.
cd PATH
To hide a file, type the following command. Replace «FileName.ext» with the name and the extension of the file. Then, press Enter.
attrib +h "FileName.ext"
To hide a folder, type the following command. Replace «FolderName» with the name of the folder to hide. Then, press Enter.
attrib +h "FolderName"
The «h» parameter in this command applies the Hidden attribute to the specified file or folder, making that item invisible.
In the future, to unhide a file, use the following command. Make sure to replace «FileName.ext» with the name and the extension of the file to unhide.
attrib -h "FileName.ext"
To unhide a folder, run the following command replacing «FolderName» with the name of the folder to unhide.
attrib -h "FolderName"
This command removes the Hidden attribute from the specified file or folder, making that item visible.
Password Protect Your Files or Folders
Another way to keep your items out of people’s reach is by password-protecting them. When you do this, your items are still visible, but people have to enter the correct password before they can access those items. You do this by making a password-protected archive from your files and folders.
Windows 11 doesn’t offer a built-in option to add password protection to archives, so you’ll have to use a third-party option. Free apps like 7-Zip and WinRAR help you do the task. I’ll show you how to use the former one.
Launch the 7-Zip site and download and install the app on your PC. Restart your Windows 11 system after installing the app. Then, launch File Explorer (press Windows+E) and find the file or folder to password-protect.
Right-click that file or folder and select Show More Options > 7-Zip > Add to Archive.
On the Add to Archive window, select the «Enter Password» field and type the password you want to use. Choose the «Reenter Password» field and re-type the same password. Optionally, configure other options.
Then, at the bottom, click «OK» to start creating a password-protected archive.
When the archive is created, double-click it to check if it’s password-protected. You can now delete the original files or folders so people can’t access them. Right-click those original files or folders and then click the trash can icon. You can press and hold the Shift key to select multiple files for deletion to save yourself a bit of time.
Choose «Yes» in the prompt so the items are deleted and not just moved to the Recycle Bin.
Note that 7-Zip doesn’t allow you to add files after you’ve created an encrypted archive. Therefore, make sure to add all the files you want to protect in one go. One way to do this is to bring all your files in one folder and then add them to an archive.
Using a Free Third-Party App to Hide Files
You also have the option to use free third-party apps to hide files and folders on your system. One of these is Wise Folder Hider, which allows you to hide items even in its free version (it has a paid version as well).
To use it, access the Wise Folder Hider site and download and install the app on your PC. Launch the app and create the login password that you’ll use to unhide items. Then, to hide a file, click «Hide File.» To hide a folder, click «Hide Folder.»
Navigate to the directory where the file or the folder you want to hide is located, then select that item.
Your chosen file or folder is now hidden. You won’t see it in File Explorer anymore.
To unhide a hidden file or folder, launch the Wise Folder Hider app. Next to the item you want to unhide, click the «Operation» drop-down menu and choose «Unhide.»
Without any prompts, the app will immediately make the selected items visible.
And that’s how you protect your files and folders from prying eyes on your Windows 11 PC. You also have the option to hide specific folders from the Windows Search results if you’d like to do that.
