When you open the File Explorer window, by default, you will see a category view of all the drives, Home, pinned folders, and network locations on the left navigation pane. Generally, this is good enough for most of us. However, what if you want to see all the folders. i.e., a comprehensive view of the folder structure so you can navigate quickly and efficiently? That’s where you can enable the “Show All Folders” option in the File Explorer’s navigation pane. Once enabled, the File Explorer shows all the folders including the typical user folders and system folders like the Control Panel, Libraries, & Recycle Bin.
In this quick and easy tutorial, I will show the simplest way to enable or disable the “Show All Folders” option to show or hide all folders in the File Explorer navigation pane.
Before You Start
- The steps below are tested to work on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Enable ‘Show All Folders’ in File Explorer Navigation Pane
- Press “Windows key + E” to open File Explorer.
- Right-click on the empty space on the left navigation bar.
- Select the “Show all folders” option.
- With that, the File Explorer window shows all folders as a list in the navigation pane.
- Close the File Explorer window if needed.
Once the ‘Show All Folders’ option is enabled, you will see a comprehensive list of folders and drives on the left navigation bar in File Explorer. These folders include the Control Panel and Recycle Bin. Unlike the regular view where everything is categorized, all the folders are listed under the Desktop folder.
Disable ‘Show All Folders’ in File Explorer Navigation Pane
If you want to see the categorized list of folders and drives in the File Explorer navigation pane, you need to disable the ‘Show All Folders’ option. Here’s how to do it.
- Open the File Explorer window.
- Right-click on the empty space on the left navigation bar.
- Uncheck the “Show all folders” option.
- With that, the navigation pane reverts to the default view.
- Close the File Explorer window.
Wrapping Up — Showing or Hiding All Folders in File Explorer Navigation Pane
As you can see, if you are someone who loves you see all the available folders, drives, system folders, and network locations in a simple comprehensive list then enabling the “Show All Folders” option is what you need. Of course, you’ll lose the categorization but that’s a fair tradeoff considering the usability. When you don’t need it or to clean up the navigation pane, you can just as easily disable the “Show all folders” option.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
