For generations, Windows has shipped with six top-level folders: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos. In October 2017, the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update added a seventh: 3D Objects. The folder is meant to provide a natural save location for content made with Windows’ new 3D apps, such as Paint 3D. However, it’s unlikely to be useful to most Windows 10 users, so in this guide we’ll show you how to banish it from sight.
3D Objects is located within your user profile folder, typically at C:UsersUsername3D Objects. We’re not going to actually delete the folder, in part because doing so could result in problems with any 3D apps which assume it exists. Instead, we’ll focus on hiding it in File Explorer’s sidebar and “This PC” screen, helping to declutter the interface.
You’ll need to edit the registry to make this change. As ever, take care when making registry edits – the wrong change has the potential to cause serious problems within Windows. Open the Registry Editor by searching for “regedit” in the Start menu (you’ll need to be logged in as an administrator).
Once the Registry Editor opens, use the tree view or address bar to navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerMyComputerNamespace
In the tree view to the left of the registry editor window, look for the following key:
{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}
This cryptic-looking key is used to identify the 3D Objects folder internally. Right-click the key and click “Delete” to remove it. You may wish to click “Export” first to make it simpler to reverse this change in the future.
Next, use the tree view or address bar to navigate to the following key. This will only exist if you have a 64-bit Windows installation. If you’re using a 32-bit PC, you can skip this step as you’ve already completed the guide.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerMyComputerNamespace.
Again, find the 3D Objects folder’s sub-key in the tree view (refer to the section above), right-click it and press “Delete.”
You should now be able to open File Explorer and observe that the 3D Objects folder no longer shows up in This PC.
It’s a small change, but one which helps to keep your PC tidy if you’re never going to be creating 3D content. Although Microsoft is keen to push Windows’ “creators” features, adding a top-level folder for such a niche discipline feels contrived and is unnecessary for the vast majority of Windows users. If you ever want to restore the folder to This PC, just recreate the registry sub-keys you removed in this guide.
