Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
By default, Windows hides certain files and folders. We'll look at the setting to change to display hidden files and folders in Windows Explorer.
I have my old Outlook .pst file on a flash drive, but I cannot get it to my hard drive. The location of the newly created Outlook .pst file is in the location - c:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook - but when I try to step into that location in \Richard\, there is no "AppData" folder. What am I missing? I'm trying to install Outlook 2007 into Windows operating system.
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Windows is trying to be helpful by protecting you from yourself.
Or perhaps it's trying not to confuse you with too much data.
Or maybe it's trying to protect itself from you.
Whatever ... Windows is hiding that folder.
We know what we're doing, so we'll tell it to stop.
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Hidden files and folders
Windows has the concept of files and/or folders that are "hidden" from view. It's a simple attribute of the file or folder that, when set, causes many programs to simply not display them.
In Window's defense, there are files and folders that generally shouldn't be played with or that may simply cause confusion. I can understand why Windows might elect to hide them by default.
On the other hand, sometimes, we really do want to see them, as in this case.
Fortunately, for Windows Explorer at least, there's a simple setting.
Viewing hidden files and folders in Windows Explorer
Here's a view of "C:\Users\LeoN" on my machine:
You'll note there's no AppData folder.
Click the Tools menu in Windows Explorer (if the menu isn't visible, press the ALT key and it should appear), click the Folder options... menu item, and then click View tab in the resulting dialog box.
Change the setting to "Show hidden files, folders and drives" and click OK.
Lo and behold, there's the missing folder. If you look closely, you can see that the folder icon for the AppData folder is slightly lighter than the others. That indicates that the folder is marked as hidden.
I always have "Show hidden files, folder and drives" set. I don't feel that I need Windows' help in this regard.
Viewing hidden files and folders in the Command Prompt
"Dir" for "directory" is the command that you use in Windows Command Prompt to see the files in the current folder (also referred to as a directory).
Here's the results of a "DIR" while in C:\Users\LeoN:
Once again, no AppData folder.
There is no simple setting to always make the Command Prompt show hidden files. Instead, we add an option to the DIR command to tell it to display only the hidden files:
dir /A:H
At the top of the list is the AppData folder.
By default, the Command Prompt will display all of the hidden files including system files and so-called "protected operating system files" - hence, the "<JUNCTION>" items and "NTUSER.DAT", the file containing the user-specific registry.
In Windows Explorer, you may also need to de-select several other Hide options if you want to see all of these files there as well.
Article C5088 - February 25, 2012 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
February 27, 2012 8:16 AM
And, while we're on the subject of the "folder options / view" dialog, you should probably point out that the "hide extensions for known file types" should be unchecked. (Which you haven't done on the system where you took the screenshot.)
February 28, 2012 2:24 AM
@Ken B
The first link in the list explains about how to show the extensions for known file types.
February 28, 2012 1:49 PM
I was wondering if you could help me with an apple computer its an old one,but i see no reason to change ,(its 10 years old and no i cant afford another yet,but it still does all i need,)its a emac yeah its really old,how can i speed it up please,thanks in advance if you can help
February 28, 2012 7:09 PM
I'm with showing hidden files/folders. I want to know what's on my system.
Microsoft, in it's infatile wisdom, thinks it knows what good for us.
March 12, 2012 11:26 AM
In a XP CMD prompt, when I want to CD (Change Directory) to a SubDirectory, I often just type the \ key and the first letter of the SubDirectory I want to go to, then I use the Tab Key to TOGGLE through the names offered until I find the one I want to get to and then I press the Enter key.
Hidden Directories are shown when I use my procedure.
I also have set a Environmental Variable in XP -
DIRCMD=O:GNE/A/P
- to get a DIR to display the way "I" like it in this order:
1. SubDirectories listed in Alphabetical Order
2. File Names listed in Alphabetical Order
3. Same File Names with different Extensions listed in Alphabetical Order
4. All Files
5. Pause when the list fills the screen
Sometimes I will want to get a Directory listing Sorted by Date/Time Order, when I do I type DIR/OD , and the screen still Pauses for me whenever the listing is larger than one screenfull.
I have set the Environmental Variable DIRCMD=O:GNE/A/P on ALL my computers - MS-DOS 5.0, WIN9x, XP and Vista and it works on all of them at a command prompt.