How to Show or Not "Show All Folders" in the Windows 7 Navigation Pane
Information
This will show you how to set the Windows 7 Navigation pane to Show or Not Show all folders in the Folder Tree automatically. You can still manually expand the folders not shown to see them though.
Tip
If you check the Show All Folders option, it will also add your user profile folder, Control Panel, and Recycle Bin in the Windows Explorer Navigation Pane.
EXAMPLE: Not Show All Folders in the Navigation Pane NOTE:This is the default setting in Windows 7.
EXAMPLE: Show All Folders in the Navigation Pane
OPTION ONE
To Turn "Show all folders" On or Off from Navigation Pane
1. Right click on a empty space in the Navigation Pane.
2. To Not Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Click on Show all folders to uncheck it. (See screenshot below) NOTE:This is the default setting.
3. To Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Click on Show all folders to check it. (See screenshot above)
OPTION TWO
To Turn "Show all folders" On or Off from Folder Options
1. Open Folder Options, and click on the General tab. (See screenshot below)
2. To Not Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Uncheck the Show all folders box. (See screenshot above) NOTE:This is the default setting.
B) Go to step 4.
3. To Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Check the Show all folders box. (See screenshot below step 1)
4. Click on OK. (See screenshot below step 1)
OPTION THREE
To Turn "Show all folders" On or Off using a REG File Download
1. To Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
Show_All_Folders_Navigation_Pane.reg
B) Go to step 3.
2. To Not Show All Foldersin Navigation Pane
A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below. NOTE:This is the default setting.
Not_Show_All_Folders_Navigation_Pane.reg
3.Save the .reg file to the desktop.
4. Right click on the downloaded .reg file, and click on Merge.
5. Click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted.
6. If open, close and reopen Windows Explorer to see the changes. NOTE:If you do not see a change, then log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.
7. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
OPTION FOUR
To Turn "Show all folders" On or Off Manually in Registry Editor
1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search box and press Enter.
4. In the right pane of Advanced, right click on NavPaneShowAllFolders and click on Modify. (see screenshot above)
5. To Not Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Type 0 (number zero), and click on OK. (see screenshot below) NOTE:This is the default setting.
B) Go to step 7.
6. To Show All Folders in Navigation Pane
A) Type 1, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
7. Close regedit.
8. If open, close and reopen Windows Explorer to see the changes. NOTE:If you do not see a change, then log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply.
System Manufacturer/Model Number Home Brew OS Windows 7 Ultimate Vista Ultimate x64 CPU Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16Ghz @ 3.8Ghz Motherboard eVGA 750i FTW Memory 2x2Gigs Patriot PC2-6400 LL Graphics Card Inno3D GeForce GTX260 216 SP Monitor(s) Displays ASUS VW222U 22" 2ms Response time Screen Resolution 1680x1050
Keyboard Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard Mouse Logitech G9 Gaming Mouse PSU HYTEC 600W & Thermaltake 650W Toughpower Power Exp Case Thermaltake Armor LCS (Liquid Cooling System) Cooling Liquid Cooling System Hard Drives SATA 150GB
SATA II 250GB
USB IDE 750GB Ext.
Hello Brink, I know your tutorial just show everybody how to just have them show or not show automatically. so I just add a secondary way
Thanks for good tutorial. You are professional computer specialist.
Outstanding. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about customizing the start menu. I had many of these tweaks set up in XP. I just got a new laptop with Win 7 and I could not customize as in XP until I discovered this forum. I have registered with this forum and I intend to visit often. This forum allows those of us who wish to dig a little deeper into the operating system a good resource. I am currently having difficulty getting my XP and Win 7 seven computers to see each other on a wireless network. They can both use the network to access the net but cannot access each other. The XP box sees the Win 7 but cannot access files because of a permissions issue. The Win 7 box only sees the wireless router connected to the XP box but not the files on the XP box or the printer. I have explored the networking section of this forum and have tried some of the suggested solutions but to no avail. I will continue with my Win 7 education and hopefully my networking issues will be resolve. You efforts have already significantly improved my Win 7 experience.
System Manufacturer/Model Number Toshiba / Quosimo X505-Q830 Laptop OS Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) CPU Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor - w/Turbo Boost 6mb L3 cache Motherboard Unknown / Mobile Intel® PM55 Express Chipset Memory 4GB DDR3 1066MHz memory Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 250M w/1GB GDDR5 discrete graphics memo Sound Card Integrated sound Monitor(s) Displays 18.4” diagonal widescrn TruBrite® TFT LCD at 1680x945 native
PSU AC 120W (19V x 6.32A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz input Case Laptop Cooling No addtional cooling Hard Drives 320GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive
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Tip
OPTION ONE 
