How to Remove “Libraries” from Windows 7 Explorer Navigation Pane?

If you enable “Navigation Pane” in Windows 7 Explorer, it shows following 5 items in the pane:

  • Favorites
  • Libraries
  • Homegroup
  • Computer
  • Network

This tutorial will help you in removing “Libraries” item from the Navigation pane in Windows 7 Explorer as shown in following screenshot:

No_Libraries_in_Win_7_Explorer_Nav_.png

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Simply follow these simple steps:

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start Menu search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\ShellFolder

3. Now you’ll need to change value of “Attributes” DWORD value present in the right-side section. But Windows will not allow you to change its value as you won’t have proper permissions. So take ownership of ShellFolder key with the help of this guide.

4. Now double-click on “Attributes” DWORD value given in right-side section and change its value to b090010d

5. That’s it. Log off or restart your system and “Libraries” will no longer present in Explorer window.

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If you want to restore “Libraries” in Navigation pane, simply change value of “Attributes” DWORD to b080010d using step 4.

NOTE 1: If you are using 64-bit edition of Windows, you may notice that Libraries icon is still present in “Browse” dialog box such as Save, Save as or Open in some 3rd party 32-bit programs. To remove Libraries icon from there, you’ll need to perform the same steps in following key as well:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\ShellFolder

Just go to above mentioned key, take ownership of the key and in right-side pane, change value of Attributes DWORD to b090010d to remove Libraries icon.

NOTE 2: If you want to completely disable “Libraries” feature, you can visit following tutorial:

How to Disable “Libraries” Feature in Windows 7?

PS: For Windows 8.1 or later OS users:

[Did You Know] You can Remove “Libraries” from Windows Explorer Navigation Pane in Windows 8.1 and Later

Published in: Windows 7

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Thanks a lot. I think this library thing is useless if you already have your files correctly organised. And also it does not always refresh automatically, which is sometimes a pain in the neck.

    One remark thought, for me, the correct key adress is : ” HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\ShellFolder ” .

    Maybe that’s because I have a 64bit version of Windows 7

  2. How do I remove this junk from Explorer without editing the Registry and having to restart? Restarting will undo any edits and put things right back where they were.

  3. I did this with the PS: If you want to completely disable “Libraries” feature, you can visit following tutorial: How to Disable “Libraries” Feature in Windows 7?

    Ran the registry script and everything worked fine, however when I go to attach or download something from say Chrome or Firefox, the libraries still show up on my desktop or in Windows Explorer….

    Do I need to run this registry editing thing as well? (what is described on this page I mean)

    Thanks for your help.

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