General Turn On or Off Show all folders in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 11


Navigation_pane_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off show all folders in the navigation pane of File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.

The navigation pane is the far left pane in File Explorer used to find files, folders, and drives on your PC or network.

If you like, you can select to show all the folders on your PC in the navigation pane. This includes all hidden folders, your user account folders, Control Panel, Libraries, and Recycle Bin.


Contents

  • Option One: Turn On or Off "Show all folders" in Navigation Pane in File Explorer
  • Option Two: Turn On or Off "Show all folders" in Navigation Pane in Folder Options
  • Option Three: Turn On or Off 'Show all folders" in Navigation Pane using REG file
  • Option Four: Turn On or Off 'Show all folders" in Navigation Pane in Registry Editor


EXAMPLE: "Show all folders" on and off in navigation pane

Show_all_folders_on.png
Show_all_folders_off.png





Option One

Turn On or Off "Show all folders" in Navigation Pane in File Explorer


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Right click or press and hold on an empty area inside the navigation pane, and click/tap on Show all folders to toggle it on (checked) or off (unchecked - default). (see screenshot below)

Show_all_folders_navigation_pane.png





Option Two

Turn On or Off "Show all folders" in Navigation Pane in Folder Options


1 Open Folder Options.

2 Click/tap on the View tab. (see screenshot below)

3 Under the Navigation pane section, check (on) or uncheck (off - default) Show all folders for what you want.

4 Click/tap on OK.

Show_all_folders_Folder_Options.png





Option Three

Turn On or Off 'Show all folders" in Navigation Pane using REG file


This option will not work when Administrator protection is turned on.


1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you want.

2 Turn On 'Show all folders" in Navigation Pane

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Turn_On_Show-all-folders_in_navigation_pane_for_current_user.reg​


(Content of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"NavPaneShowAllFolders"=dword:00000001

3 Turn Off 'Show all folders" in Navigation Pane

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Turn_Off_Show-all-folders_in_navigation_pane_for_current_user.reg​


(Content of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"NavPaneShowAllFolders"=dword:00000000

4 Save the REG file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 Either restart explorer process, sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.

8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.




Option Four

Turn On or Off 'Show all folders" in Navigation Pane in Registry Editor


1 Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe).

2 Navigate to the key location below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below step 3)

HKEY_USERS\<SID>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced​

Substitute <SID> in the key path above with the actual SID for the account you want to apply this to.

For example:
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2498639629-3946114050-4100787084-1001\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced


3 In the right pane of the Advanced key, double click/tap on the NavPaneShowAllFolders DWORD to modify it. (see screenshot below)

NavPaneShowAllFolders-1.webp

4 Enter 0 (off - default) or 1 (on) for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

NavPaneShowAllFolders-2.webp

5 Either restart explorer process, sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.

6 You can now close Registry Editor if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink

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Attachments

Last edited:
Click to expand...
Tutorial updated to add option four. :alien:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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