Click on 3 dots in File Explorer and select Options.
Go to "View" tab. Scroll down to "Show all folders".
File Explorer - What happened to right-click "Show all folders"
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(99.2, 38%, 19%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ERS%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ron Smith
65
Reputation points
Recently in combing through the multiple Documents folders in the File Explorer Navigation pane,
I ran across some advice to "uncheck" the "Show all folders" option.
I DID THAT - AND File Explorer seems to have permanently changed - i.e. no matter what, I can NO LONGER do a right-click and get the "Show all folders" in the dropdown to appear any more, so that I can turn it back on. In fact, the dropdown has changed considerably.
I have closed and reopened, Restarted File Explorer via Task Manager, checked of Updates, Reset to Default, Rebooted by PC, etc. - nothing works. "Show all folders" is nowhere to be found.
Can anyone tell me how to get back to my original Navigation Pane layout - with the multiple Documents folders - so that I can understand what is going on - or if unchecking the "Show all folders" has permanently damaged something in File Explorer.
ron in shawnee
Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage
Answer accepted by question author
-
ppavle 5,185 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator2026-02-19T19:00:24.18+00:00 -
Ron Smith 65 Reputation points
2026-02-19T20:10:43.5333333+00:00 ppavle-
Yes, that did it - thanks.
MY ERROR - I had already found that, FINALLY, and clicked on the Show all folders box - but FORGOT to click on the "Apply", so it didn't work - but does work now once I did that.
Still don't know why the "Show all folders" does not appear in the right-click dropdown anymore but won't belabor that point.
AND I do much prefer the Navigation pane with the fewer folders being shown (the "Show all folders NOT" being display - partially alleviating my years' worth of displeasure and complaints of the multiple Documents folders being present in the Navigation pane.
I will mark your answer (much better that the AI response) as Yes, Solved, etc.
Thanks ron in shawnee
Sign in to comment -
1 additional answer
Sort by: Most helpful
-
Q&A Assist2026-02-19T18:53:02.43+00:00 AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn moreIt seems that the option to "Show all folders" in the File Explorer navigation pane has been removed from your context menu after you unchecked it. Unfortunately, there is no direct method to restore this option through the right-click menu if it has disappeared. However, you can try the following steps to reset your File Explorer settings:
- Open File Explorer Options: Go to the View tab and click on "Options".
- Reset Folders: In the Folder Options dialog, you can click on "Reset Folders" to restore the default settings for all folders.
- Check Navigation Pane Settings: Make sure that the Navigation pane is enabled by going to the View tab in File Explorer and ensuring that "Navigation pane" is checked.
- Reboot Your PC: Sometimes, changes may require a full reboot to take effect.
If these steps do not work, you may need to consider creating a new user profile, as this can sometimes resolve persistent issues with File Explorer settings.
References: