How to Enable or Disable Pop-up Tips Description in File Explorer on Windows 11

Method 1Using Folder Options

Folder Options is the simplest way to change this setting, and it works the same on Windows 11 Home and Pro. The setting is a single checkbox, so you don’t need any advanced tools. The checkbox also covers items on the desktop, not just those in File Explorer 📁 windows. Follow the steps below to find it.

1. Open File Explorer 📁, or press Win+E on your keyboard. A File Explorer 📁 window opens, usually on Home or Quick access.
2. Click the three dots icon in the top menu bar and select Options. The Folder Options window opens. If you don’t see the three dots, widen the File Explorer 📁 window. The toolbar may be cut off when the window is narrow.

3. In the window that appears, click the View tab. You will see a long Advanced settings list with many checkboxes.
4. Scroll through the list and find the box labeled Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items.
5. Check the box to turn the feature on, or uncheck it to turn it off.
6. Click OK to save your changes. The window closes. Hover over a file to test it. If the old behavior is still there, restart File Explorer 📁 using the steps later in this guide.

To undo the change, open the same window and set the checkbox back the way it was. If a later change to the setting doesn’t seem to stick, the Registry method below may be overriding it. A work or school PC may also have the setting managed by your administrator.

Method 2Using the Registry Editor

You can also control pop-up descriptions from the Registry Editor by changing a DWORD value in your user profile keys. Use this method if the checkbox in Folder Options is missing or keeps resetting, or if you want to script the change. It works on both Home and Pro. Because it edits the system database, work carefully. Before you start, you can back up the registry from the Registry Editor menu with File › Export

1. Press Win+R, type regedit, and press Enter. If a User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes. The Registry Editor opens.
2. Navigate to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. You can click through the folders in the left pane, or paste the path into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor and press Enter. The right pane then shows the values stored in that key.

3. In the right pane, right-click an empty space and select New › DWORD (32-bit) Value. A new entry appears with its name highlighted, ready to be edited. If a value with that name already exists in the list, skip to step 5 and edit it instead.
4. Name this value ShowInfoTip, then press Enter.
5. Double-click ShowInfoTip and set the Value data to 1 to turn it on, or 0 to turn it off. Click OK, then close the Registry Editor. The new value shows in the right pane.

The change usually doesn’t apply until File Explorer 📁 restarts, so follow the next section. To undo it, set the Value data back to the other number, or right-click the value and choose Delete to return to the default.

Applying Changes: Restarting Windows Explorer

Changes to folder options or the registry may not show up until the Windows shell reloads. The shell is the process that draws File Explorer 📁, the taskbar 🖥️ and the desktop. Restarting it makes Windows reload all of that. You don’t need to reboot the 🔄 whole computer. Save your work first, since open File Explorer windows will close.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. If it opens in a compact view, click More details at the bottom.
2. Find Windows Explorer in the list on the Processes tab.
3. Right-click it and select Restart. The taskbar and desktop disappear for a moment and then come back. This is normal.
4. Alternatively, run this command in Command Prompt: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe & start explorer.exe. This does the same job from the command line.

Once the desktop is back, hover over a file or folder to confirm the tips behave the way you set them. If nothing changed, signing out and back in also reloads the shell.

Advanced Configuration: System Hover Delay

If you want to keep the tips but make them less distracting, you can change how long Windows waits before showing one. This is a registry value located at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Increasing this value makes tips appear more slowly, so quick passes of the mouse over files no longer trigger them. Open the Registry Editor the same way as in the earlier method, find the value, and change it. Then restart File Explorer or sign out and back in to test it. Note the original number before you change it so you can restore it later.

Summary

Whether Windows 11 shows extra information when you hover over files comes down to one setting. You can change it from File Explorer's Folder Options, which is the easiest route and works on every edition. You can also use the Registry Editor when you need more control. Restart File Explorer after a change if it doesn't take effect right away.