How to hide files and folders using Command Prompt
Alternatively, you can also use Command Prompt to hide files and folders on your computer.
- Open Start.
- Do a search for Command Prompt and click the result.
- Type the following command to navigate to the items you want to hide and press Enter:cd C:\Users\admin\Desktop\FilesIn the command replace the path after cd with the path to your file or folder.
- Type the following command to hide a folder or file and press Enter:attrib +h "Secret Files"In the command replace "Secret Files" with the name of your folder or file. Quotation marks are only necessary when there are spaces in the name.
- If you're trying to hide a folder with files and subfolders, which you also want to keep hidden, then you'll need to use these steps as well.
- While in Command Prompt type the following command to navigate inside the hidden folder and press Enter:cd "Secret Files"In the command replace "Secret Files" with the name of your hidden folder.
- Type the following command to hide all files and folders inside the hidden folder and press Enter:attrib +h /s /d
After completing the steps, the items with the hidden attribute will no longer be visible.
Making hidden files and folders visible again
If you change your mind, you can use the following steps to remove the hidden attribute for files and folders.
- Open Start.
- Do a search for Command Prompt and click the result.
- Type the following command to navigate to the hidden items location and press Enter:cd C:\Users\admin\Desktop\FilesIn the command replace the path after cd with the path to your file or folder.
- Type the following command to make the items visible again and press Enter:attrib -h "Secret Files"In the command replace "Secret Files" with the name of your folder or file. Quotation marks are only necessary when there are spaces in the name
In the case you also set the hidden attribute for files and subfolders inside of a folder, then do the following to remove the attribute.
- While in Command Prompt type the following command to navigate inside the hidden folder and press Enter:
cd "Secret Files"In the command replace "Secret Files" with the name of your hidden folder. - Type the following command to remove the hidden attribute from all files and folders inside the folder and press Enter:
attrib -h /s /d