What Are the Windows Folder Options, and How Do You Enable or Disable Them?
Folder Options are features that help you configure various file and folder settings. Enabling or disabling them can often come in handy—especially if you share your device with others.
For example, if you don’t want others to change your file and folder settings, you can disable the Folder Options. Meanwhile, if some file and folder settings are suddenly missing, you’d need to enable the Folder Options.
As such, let’s explore the Folder Options screen in detail, as well as how to enable or disable them.
What Are the Windows Folder Options and Are They Important?
The Folder Options are important because they contain most of the major file and folder settings. You can use them to customize how File Explorer works, and any changes made to the Folder Options could affect File Explorer’s performance.
You can find the Windows Folder Options by performing the following:
The Different Sections of the Windows Folder Options Screen
The Folder Options window has three tabs: General, View, and Search.
The General Tab
Let’s start with the General tab. This is the tab that usually greets you when you open up the Windows Folder Options.
Here are all the options that appear under this tab:
If you want to restore the default settings under the General tab, press theRestore Defaultsbutton at the bottom.
The View Tab
The View tab contains most of the Folder Options settings. Here are the options that appear under this tab:
To restore the default settings on the View tab, click theRestore Defaultsbutton at the bottom.
The Search Tab
Lastly, the search tab allows you to configure settings for the File Explorer search bar. Here are the options under the Search tab:
If you want to restore the File Explorer search settings, click theRestore Defaultsbutton at the bottom.
Now, let’s discover how you can enable or disable the Folder Options on Windows.
How to Enable or Disable the Windows Folder Options
You can enable or disable the Folder Options by using either the Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE) or the Registry Editor.
Using the Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE)
This method will only be helpful if you’re using the Windows Pro, Education, and Enterprise Editions.
If you’re using Windows Home, you first need to apply a few tricks toaccess the LGPE on Windows Home. But if that sounds complicated, you can skip directly to the “Registry Editor” method.
Otherwise, here’s how to enable or disable the Folder Options using the LGPE:
SelectEnabledto disable the Folder Options. Alternatively, selectNot ConfiguredorDisabledto enable the Folders option. Finally, clickApplyand then clickOKto apply these changes.
To check if these settings have been applied, follow these steps:
Using the Registry Editor
The Registry Editor can also help. However, start bybacking up your Registryfirst just in case something goes wrong.
Now, here’s how you can use the Registry Editor to disable or enable the Folder Options:
Next, follow these steps:
To disable the Folder Options, double-click on theNoFolderOptionsvalue and set itsValue datato1. Alternatively, set theValue datato0(zero) to enable the Folder Options.
PressOK, close theRegistry Editor, and then restart your device to save these changes.
Enable or Disable the Folder Options Without a Hassle!
The Windows Folder Options make it easy for you to configure settings on File Explorer. If you want to enable or disable the Folder Options, try any of the methods in this article.
When you finish, it’s possible to go ahead and check out some nifty Windows folder tricks.
Look after your folders and they’ll look after you—use these tips to get a head start!
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