Where is the pictures Folder?

Question

I press on the File Explorer button, and there isn't a pictures file anymore. There's "Gallery" which is organized by time? What the hell did you guys do? Why do you all "fix" what isn't broken? You guys are always doing this crap, I've had to deal with you since 1993 and it's always the same shite. Stuff that was easy to do and deal with you guys make harder for some reason that just mystifies me. I had Pictures folder organized in a way that made sense to me. Now I don't have a pictures folder, with its subfolders. what the hell?

Answer 1

Pinning anything under show all did nothing. Actually, if I showed all, I am only able to pin subfolders inside main folders. None of the main folders will pin to quick access if I pin with show all. HOWEVER, I did find a solution that worked easily and just as fast!

What I did was right clicked to enable "Show libraries":

Then expanded the "Libraries" folder to show the "Pictures" folder and pinned that to "Quick access":

For me, this was the only way that I could get Pictures folder to pin.

Answer 2

Hi Matos,

I'm Sumit, here to help with your query on the Microsoft Q&A forums.

Apologies for any inconvenience you are experiencing. I am happy to help you today.

I am glad you find the Pictures folder. Do you want to move it out of Onedrive? Happy to share the steps with you for that.

For showing it in the navigation pane, please toggle the "Show all folders" currently set, and try again.

I look forward to your response and am eager to collaborate until we find a solution.

Answer 3

AH! You made Pictures a strictly OneDrive folder .... eye-roll ... I found it.

Answer 4

Here is a snip of what the folder looks like.

This picture I had to save in Downloads, in a folder I created.

Answer 5

Hello Josue, I am Henry and I want to help you with your issue.

Let me reassure you immediately: your Pictures folder and all of its subfolders are safe and have not been deleted.

The "Gallery" you are seeing is a new view, not a replacement folder. It's a feature designed to pull photos from multiple locations (like your Pictures folder and OneDrive) and display them together, sorted by date. Your original, carefully organized folder structure is still exactly where you left it.

Here is a step-by-step guide to not only find your folder but also restore a layout to File Explorer.

Part 1: Here are two quick ways to get directly to your organized folders, bypassing the Gallery view.

1. Look Under "This PC":
   • Open File Explorer.
   • In the navigation pane on the left, click on "This PC".
   • Your Pictures folder will be listed there in the traditional group with Documents, Downloads, Music, etc.
2. Go to Your User Profile Folder:
   • Navigate directly to C:\Users[YourUsername]. Your Pictures folder is located here.

Part 2: To make File Explorer work the way you expect and keep your Pictures folder front and center, you can make these one-time changes.

1. Pin "Pictures" to Quick Access (Most Recommended):
   • Find your Pictures folder using one of the methods in Part 1.
   • Right-click on the folder.
   • Select "Pin to Quick access". This will add a permanent shortcut to your Pictures folder at the very top of the left-hand navigation pane, so you can always click it directly.
2. Change Where File Explorer Opens:
   • In File Explorer, click the three dots (...) in the top menu, then select Options.
   • On the General tab, change the dropdown menu for "Open File Explorer to:" from "Home" to "This PC".
   • Click OK. Now, every time you open File Explorer, it will show you the traditional view with your main drives and user folders, not the new "Home" or "Gallery" view.

Hope this clears things up! If you find this guidance helpful, you're welcome to click 'Accept Answer'—it helps others find useful solutions too.