What Are Desktop.Ini Files and Can You Delete or Hide Them?

Typically, you will find a file called desktop.ini in your folders. Let's look at what they are, if you can delete them and how you can hide them.

What Is the desktop.ini?

The desktop.ini can contain a handful of folder settings. Typically there are four or five. Here are the most common uses:

ConfirmFileOp - Gives you a warning when deleting a system file
IconFile - Specifies any .ico, .exe or .dll custom icon
IconIndex - Specify the index for a single custom icon, or multiple icons
InfoTip - This is the text you see when you hover over a folder

Here's an example of our desktop.ini from the Downloads folder:

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%system32shell32.dll,-21779
InfoTip=@%SystemRoot%system32shell32.dll,-12688
IconResource=%SystemRoot%system32imageres.dll,-113
IconFile=%SystemRoot%system32shell32.dll
IconIndex=-236

Can I Delete desktop.ini?
You can, but desktop.ini is considered a system file, and the general rule is not to delete system files. They take up little space, and there's nothing to be gained by removing them. If you delete a desktop.ini, it will be recreated the next time a change is made to the folder's layout.

Can I Hide the desktop.ini?

You can, and you should. There's nothing to see here. Well, there is, but let's fix that. Press the Windows Key + S and type in Files and click on Show hidden files and folders. Under Advanced settings, scroll down and look for Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and be sure that's checked. Click on OK, and close.



You will no longer see those desktop.ini files.

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