Quickly Hide Files And Folders In Windows 8 With Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows 8 includes hundreds of new features. One of them is Windows Explorer Ribbon. The Explorer Ribbon lets users quickly access various options and settings, including those settings that were available only under Folder Options in previous versions of Windows.

At times, for obvious reasons, we need to quickly hide some files and folders. In Windows 7 and previous versions of Windows, the option to hide files and folders isn’t accessible. To hide a file or folder we need to right-click on the file or folder that we wish to hide, select properties, and then enable the Hidden checkbox under General tab.

To view all hidden files and folders, we need to open Folder Options (Tools > Folder Options) and then enable view all hidden files and folder options under View tab. But in Windows 8, one can easily hide a file or folder without navigating to the file properties, thanks to the Ribbon Explorer.

In Windows 8, you can use keyboard shortcuts to hide or show a file or folder. Follow the given below instructions to know how to use keyboard shortcuts to easily hide a file or folder.

To hide a file or folder in Windows Explorer:

Step 1: Select the file or folder that you wish to hide.

Step 2: Press Alt + V keys to see all options under View tab.

Step 3: Lastly, press HS keys to hide the selected file or folder. You will see the confirmation box. Click Ok or press enter key to apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files. Pressing the HS keys when a hidden file or folder is selected will remove the hidden attribute of the file or folder.

To show  hidden files and folders in Windows Explorer:

Step 1: Open Windows Explorer.

Step 2: Press Alt + V keys to see the Ribbon and options under View tab.

Step 3: Press H key twice to toggle between show hidden files and don’t show hidden files options. Good luck!