Open File Folder Options in Windows 11

Which method to use

All the methods below open the same dialog. Pick the one that matches your situation:

• File Explorer 📁 is already open: use the command bar (Method 1).
• You want the fastest route from anywhere: use Start search (Method 2) or the Run dialog (Method 3).
• You prefer the classic Control Panel 🎛️ layout: use Control Panel 🎛️ (Method 4).
• You open this dialog often: create a desktop shortcut (Method 6).

Windows 11 names this dialog inconsistently. The Control Panel 🎛️ item and Start search result are called File Explorer 📁 Options. The window itself can be titled Folder Options or File Explorer 📁 Options, depending on your build. It is the same dialog either way. The Settings ⚙️ app has no page called Folder Options, so skip any guide that points you there.

Method 1Open it from the File Explorer command bar

This is the route to use when File Explorer 📁 is already on screen. The command bar is the row of buttons across the top of the File Explorer window, with New, Cut, Copy, Sort and View on it.

1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer. A File Explorer window opens on your default start folder, either Home or This PC.

   

2. Select the See more button, the three dots at the right end of the command bar. A menu opens.
3. Select Options at the bottom of the menu. The Folder Options dialog opens with three tabs: General, View and Search.

   

If you can't see the three dots, the File Explorer window is too narrow or the command bar is hidden. Widen the window by dragging its edge or maximising it. The three dots stay at the far right of the bar.

Method 2Open it with Start search

Use this method when you don't want to open File Explorer first.

1. Press the Windows key, or select the Search box on the taskbar.
2. Type File Explorer Options. The File Explorer Options result, tagged as a Control panel item, appears at the top of the list.
3. Press Enter, or select Open. The dialog opens on the General tab.

If the result does not appear, wait a few seconds and retype the name. Search results sometimes lag right after a restart. If it still does not appear, use Method 3, which does not depend on search.

Method 3Open it from the Run dialog or a command line

The Run dialog is a small box that launches a program or command by name. This is the quickest method if you are comfortable typing a command, and it works from Windows Terminal and Command Prompt too.

1. Press Win + R. The Run dialog opens.

   

2. Type control folders in the Open box.
3. Select OK. The Folder Options dialog opens.

To do the same from a command line, open Windows Terminal, Command Prompt or PowerShell, type control folders and press Enter. You do not need to run the terminal as administrator.

Method 4Open it from Control Panel

Control Panel still exists in Windows 11 and still lists this dialog. Which route you take depends on how Control Panel is set to display its items.

1. Press the Windows key, type Control Panel and press Enter. Control Panel opens.

   

2. Check the View by setting in the top-right corner. If it says Category, go to step 3. If it says Large icons or Small icons, go to step 4.
3. In Category view, select Appearance and Personalization, then select File Explorer Options.

   

4. In icon view, select File Explorer Options from the list of items. The dialog opens on the General tab.

Method 5Open it from the File Explorer address bar

This is a handy alternative if the command bar menu is misbehaving but you can still use File Explorer.

1. Open File Explorer with Win + E.
2. Select the address bar at the top, the box showing the current folder path.
3. Type control folders and press Enter. The dialog opens.

If File Explorer instead shows an error or searches for the text, use Method 3. The Run dialog handles the command reliably.

Method 6Create a desktop shortcut or pin it to Start

If you open this dialog often, a shortcut saves the trip through menus. Both options are safe, and you can remove either one at any time.

Pin the Start search result

1. Press the Windows key and type File Explorer Options.
2. Right-click the File Explorer Options result and select Pin to Start. A tile appears in the pinned section of the Start menu.

Create a desktop shortcut

1. Right-click an empty area of the desktop and select New › Shortcut. The Create Shortcut wizard opens.
2. Type control folders in the location box and select Next.
3. Type a name such as Folder Options and select Finish. A shortcut icon appears on the desktop.
4. Double-click the shortcut to confirm that the dialog opens.

To remove the shortcut later, right-click it and select Delete. Deleting the shortcut does not change any of your folder settings.

What each tab controls

Once the dialog is open, the three tabs cover most of what people come here to change. This section describes what each tab does so you can go straight to the right setting.

General tab

• Open File Explorer to: chooses whether new File Explorer windows start on Home or This PC. On older Windows 11 builds, Home is labelled Quick access.
• Browse folders: chooses whether each folder opens in the same window or a new one.
• Click items as follows: switches between single-click and double-click to open items.
• Privacy: controls whether File Explorer shows recently used files and frequently used folders. The Clear button next to Clear File Explorer history wipes that history. The exact checkbox labels vary slightly between Windows 11 versions.

View tab

This is the tab most people want. The Advanced settings list holds dozens of options. Two matter most:

• Hidden files and folders: select Show hidden files, folders, and drives to reveal items that are normally invisible.
• Hide extensions for known file types: clear this checkbox to show extensions such as .docx and .jpg.

Showing protected system files risks moving or deleting something Windows needs to start. Only change this if you have a specific reason, and read the warning before you tick the box.

The Folder views section at the top has Apply to Folders, which copies the current folder's layout to all folders of the same type, and Reset Folders, which returns every folder to the default layout.

Use the dialog when you need the full Advanced settings list.

Search tab

This tab controls how File Explorer searches inside folders, You can choose whether File Explorer searches inside compressed files. You can also choose whether it includes system folders in locations that aren't indexed. Most users never need to change it. Windows handles indexing (the background process that builds a searchable list of your files) in its search settings.

Save your changes

1. Change the options you want on the General, View or Search tab.
2. Select Apply to save the change and keep the dialog open, or select OK to save and close. Open File Explorer windows update straight away.
3. If a change doesn't seem to take effect, close and reopen the File Explorer window. A restart of Windows is not required.

None of these steps need administrator privileges. The settings belong to your user account, so a change you make does not affect other people who sign in to the same PC.

If the Options entry is missing or the dialog won't open

Most failures fall into one of three groups. Work through them in this order.

The dialog opens in one method but not another

If Options on the command bar does nothing, use control folders from the Run dialog (Method 3). If that works, the problem is with the File Explorer window, not the dialog. Restart File Explorer:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Task Manager opens.
2. Select the Processes tab if it isn't already selected.
3. Find Windows Explorer in the list, right-click it and select Restart. The taskbar and desktop disappear for a moment and then return.
4. Try opening the dialog again.

If Task Manager opens in its compact view, select More details at the bottom first.

The entry is missing, or nothing happens on a work or school PC

On a PC managed by an organisation, an administrator can hide File Explorer Options or block it from opening. You can tell this is the cause if the Options entry is gone from See more, File Explorer Options is absent from Control Panel, or the Run command does nothing. You cannot reverse this from your own account. Ask your IT team whether the restriction is intentional.

On a home PC where you are the only user, check whether an app, a tweaking utility or a script you ran earlier removed it. Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro both include the dialog by default. The difference is that Pro includes the Local Group Policy Editor, which can hide it, while Home does not include that tool. The exact policy and registry settings that control this are not covered here. [Registry method: to be verified]

Some options appear greyed out or reset themselves

A greyed-out option usually means a policy (a rule set by an organisation) or a management app (software an organisation uses to control the PC) has locked it. If a setting you changed reverts after you sign out, the same cause applies: something is overwriting it. Check for a work or school account under Settings › Accounts › Access work or school, which shows whether your PC is connected to an organisation.

How to undo your changes

Each tab has its own reset button. Use the one that matches the tab where you changed settings:

1. Open the dialog using any method above.
2. Select the tab you changed: General, View or Search.
3. Select Restore Defaults on that tab. The options return to their original values.
4. On the View tab, also select Reset Folders if you want folder layouts to return to default. This replaces any custom layouts you set.
5. Select OK.

Restore Defaults on the General tab does not clear your File Explorer history. Use Clear under Privacy for that.

What to do next

Open the View tab next and turn on file extensions and hidden items if you need to see them. That is the change most people want when they search for these file folder options. If you later find that a setting has reverted after a Windows update, reopen the dialog and check it again, because feature updates can reset individual File Explorer options. A shortcut from Method 6 makes that check a one-click job.