[Solution] File & Folder Names are not Visible in Windows Explorer

If you like this article, please share it with your friends and contacts on Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter using following buttons so that they can also enjoy the article:

After received a few mails about this problem, today I decided to write this small tutorial.

Many Windows users face a problem in Windows Explorer, when they can't see file or folder names under a specific folder. Only file and folder icons are visible but their names are hidden.

Here is a small step-by-step tutorial to fix this problem:

For Windows XP:

Open the problematic folder, Press and hold SHIFT key, right-click in empty area and select "View -> Thumbnails". It'll toggle the file/folder names.

Actually its a feature to show/hide file names while in Thumbnails mode.

For Windows Vista and 7:

Open the problematic folder, right-click in empty area and de-select "View -> Hide File names". If the option is not available, then press and hold SHIFT key, right-click in empty area and select "View -> Medium Icons".

Other similar articles that may interest you:

This article was posted by VG in following section: Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.

If you enjoyed this article, you can subscribe to our RSS feed or free newsletter to get all new articles directly in your Inbox. Also check out our most popular articles and archive to read other interesting articles. If you have some news or tip to share, please send us.

Have You Checked Out Following Popular Articles?

catherine

hi, i downloaded internet explorer 8 and now i cant see the folder window when i want to make attachments or save programs when using internet explorer. can anyone help me out?
VG

^^ Sorry but I can't understand your problem. If you can't see the options, you can enable Menubar by pressing ALT key and it'll become visible.
ScrapCindy

OMGosh thank you SO much. The file folder names just dissapeared and I couldn't figure out what the heck happened. I've looked on many sites and I didn't understand what they wanted me to do. You explained it perfectly. thank you.
frost

damn maN.,
it'z awesome...
i've been downloading tonnes of antivirus s/w's for thiz problem..
but yu've solved thiz probs in seconds...
thankZ a lot dude....~~!
ChrisS

Thansk - this was a minor nuisance, but since the problem was with my pictures folder, it turned ito a major inconvenience. To got the fix to work, I had to toggle back to list view and then to thumbnail view, but the names are now there. thanks!!
willy

very easy, very usefull
shadylady

Thank you so much. This is the only place I could find that solved my frustrating problem.
Cliffy

Does not work for Vista Ultimate though.
rex

ya it worked thnx
Cody

Thanks! That was driving me mad!