In most cases, the best way to protect your files is to lock them behind a password. However, this method still leaves the folder visible, which could indicate that you have something to hide. But you just want to stash a folder so it won’t be seen on your desktop and yet have an easy and quick way to access it when needed.
That’s where you can use shortcut to hide files in Windows.
Part 1: Making Hidden Folders for the Files
Technically speaking, you can create a shortcut for every file or folder individually, but it will take up a lot of file storage and easily become messy. So, we recommend using only a few folders to categorize and store most of the files you want to hide this way.
Step 1: On a blank space in your desktop (or any other location where you need the folder to be), right-click and select “New,” then choose “Folder.”
Step 2: Give your new folder a name however you want it.
Step 3: Right-click on the folder and select “Properties.”
Step 4: In the properties tab, check the “Hidden” box and click on “Apply.” Hit “OK” to leave the dialog window.
Step 5: Open File Explorer (even if you’ve placed the folder on the desktop), since it controls the folder visibility.
Step 6: In the top bar, click on “View,” then expand on “Show.” Uncheck “Hidden items.”
Your folder should disappear from wherever you’ve made it. Re-enabling the “Hidden items” option should make it visible again. If you’ve placed the folder on your desktop, it will be moved to the next available space top-left.
Part 2: Windows 11 Hide Files and Folders with Shortcut
Normally, you can’t open a file or folder via shortcut. However, Windows can create shortcuts to pretty much anything. We’ll use shortcut to hide files in Windows, then hide or obfuscate the shortcut itself.
Step 1. On the desktop, create a new shortcut (Right-click, then expand “New” and hit “Shortcut”).
Step 2. You’ll immediately get a “Create Shortcut” dialog window for the shortcut properties. In the location box (the only textbox on the screen), enter the path to the folder. Alternatively, click on “Browse” and find the folder. However, if you’ve hidden the folder, it won’t appear here, so you’ll need to go to the parent folder’s path and append the folder’s name after. Note that the file path needs to be put in quotes. Click on “Next” when you’re done.
Step 3. Name the shortcut however you like and hit “Finish.”
Step 4. Right-click on the shortcut you made and select “Properties.”
Step 5. Click on the “Shortcut key” box, then input the shortcut sequence you want to use. The shortcut needs to be in the form of “Control Shift or Alt letter or number.” Click on “Apply” to confirm it.
Step 6. Still in the Properties window, go to the “General” tab on the top and hide the shortcut by checking the “Hidden” box.
Step 7. Hit “Apply” and click “OK” to exit the window.
Even though the shortcut is hidden, pressing the keyboard shortcut will activate it. You might need to wait a second or two for the system to process it. As an alternative to Step 6, you can go to “Change icon” in the “Shortcut” properties tab, then select a new shortcut from the list. This keeps the shortcut visible wherever you put it, though. Note that if you want to change any of the properties for hidden folders or shortcuts, you need to temporarily allow File Explorer to view hidden files (see Steps 5 and 6 of Part 1).
The above is the detailed content of How to Hide Files and Folders Behind a Shortcut. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Hot Topics

If you want to cancel the password login for Windows 11, there are three methods to choose: 1. Modify the automatic login settings, uncheck "To use this computer, users must enter their username and password", and then restart the automatic login after entering the password; 2. Switch to a passwordless login method, such as PIN, fingerprint or face recognition, configure it in "Settings>Account>Login Options" to improve convenience and security; 3. Delete the account password directly, but there are security risks and may lead to some functions being limited. It is recommended to choose a suitable solution based on actual needs.

Like many Windows users, I am always on the lookout for ways to boost my productivity. Command Palette quickly became an essential tool for me. This powerful utility has completely changed how I interact with Windows, giving me instant access to the

To run programs as administrator, you can use Windows' own functions: 1. Right-click the menu to select "Run as administrator", which is suitable for temporary privilege hike scenarios; 2. Create a shortcut and check "Run as administrator" to achieve automatic privilege hike start; 3. Use the task scheduler to configure automated tasks, suitable for running programs that require permissions on a scheduled or background basis, pay attention to setting details such as path changes and permission checks.

Windows 10 KB5061087 is now rolling out as an optional preview update for those on version 22H2 with Start menu fixes.

There are three main ways to uninstall programs on Windows 11: 1. Uninstall through "Settings", open the "Settings" > "Apps" > "Installed Applications", select the program and click "Uninstall", which is suitable for most users; 2. Use the control panel, search and enter "Control Panel" > "Programs and Functions", right-click the program and select "Uninstall", which is suitable for users who are accustomed to traditional interfaces; 3. Use third-party tools such as RevoUninstaller to clean up more thoroughly, but pay attention to the download source and operation risks, and novices can give priority to using the system's own methods.

Microsoft confirmed that the DHCP server service might stop responding or refuse to connect after the June 2025 Update for Windows Server.

In the past, I always viewed the i5 lineup as anemic when it came to gaming. However, in 2025, a mid-range CPU is more than enough to start your gaming journey. Many games still don’t fully utilize multi-core performance as well as they could, so

This might not be at the top of the list of features people want to return from Windows 10, but it still offers some usefulness. If you'd like to view the current minutes and seconds without turning on that display in the main taskbar clock (where it
