How to hide the Windows 10 3D Objects folder

How to hide the Windows 10 3D Objects folder

Last updated: September 18, 2022 

There was a certain excitement about the new Windows 10 3D Objects folder. The folder miraculously showed up under This PC after a recent upgrade to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709). Imagine a folder chock full of 3D goodies to explore as procrastination fodder. The excitement was fleeting though. It was a let down to open the 3D Objects folder only to discover its 2D emptiness. It contained no 3D Objects at all. Without any real or immediate use for it, the only choice was to hide the Windows 10 3D Objects folder from view.

The default This PC view lists folders in alphabetical order. As such, the 3D Objects folder is the first folder listed, and in the way, if you have no intention of saving 3D files there. 3D objects — like files with a .3mf extension — used in the new Mixed Reality Viewer and 3D Paint application are stored in the 3D Objects folder by default. A time may come when there is more of a need for storing files there. Until then, you can hide the Windows 10 3D Objects folder with a registry edit to get it out of the way.

Hide the 3D Objects folder

Use caution when making edits to the Windows Registry. Before modifying any registry settings, make a Registry backup. Take your time, and avoid leading or trailing spaces if you are copy/pasting text from this document.

Step 1.  Launch the Registry Editor (regedit)

In the Windows/Cortana search box, type regedit. In the search results, right-click on regedit Run command and click Run as administrator in the right-click menu.

type regedit into the Windows search box

Step 2.  Navigate to the 3D Objects folder key

Copy/paste the following path into Registry Editor, and press the Enter key on your keyboard.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\{31C0DD25-9439-4F12-BF41-7FF4EDA38722}

copy/paste the file path into Registry Editor

Step 3.  Modify ThisPCPolicy in PropertyBag

Click PropertyBag under the key in the left-hand pane (see below if PropertyBag is not present). Right-click ThisPCPolicy in the right-hand pane, and click Modify… in the right-click menu.

Click PropertyBag. Right-click on ThisPCPolicy and choose Modify

In the Value data field of the  Edit String dialog, delete the word Show and type the word Hide. Click OK.

In the Value data field, delete Show and type Hide

If the PropertyBag sub-key is NOT present

If the PropertyBag sub-key is not present, you will need to add it in order to hide the Windows 10 3D Objects folder. To do so, right-click on {31C0DD25-9439-4F12-BF41-7FF4EDA38722} in the left-hand pane. In the right-click menu, choose New > Key. Name the sub-key PropertyBag.

Add PropertyBag if its not present

Click the PropertyBag sub-key you just added in the left-hand pane to select it. With PropertyBag selected, right-click inside the right-hand pane. In the right-click menu, choose New > String Value.

right-click inside the right-hand pane. In the right-click menu, choose New then String Value

Name the new value ThisPCPolicy. Right-click on ThisPCPolicy. In the right-click menu, click Modify… In the Value data field of the  Edit String dialog, type the word Hide. Click OK.

In the Value data field of the  Edit String dialog, type the word Hide. Click OK

For the change to take effect, restart your computer.

Step 4. Launch File Explorer

When you launch File Explorer again, the 3D Objects folder no longer displays.

he 3D Objects folder no longer displays

When and if the time ever comes, unhide the 3D Objects folder by changing the ThisPCPolicy value data from Hide back to Show.

Thank you for visiting Tech Help Knowledgebase to learn how to hide the Windows 10 3D Objects folder.