Remove the "3D Objects" Folder and Other Shortcuts From Windows' File Explorer

[Julio Franco]

#tbt Windows 10 introduced a "3D Objects" File Explorer shortcut that takes up unnecessary space by default. This article shows how to remove that annoyance and other such shortcuts (Music, Videos, etc), so you can personalize as you want.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/guides/1703-remove-3d-objects-shortcut-windows-file-explorer/

 

[Forebode]

Anyone whos had poor luck installing/setting up OneDrive/equivalent correctly.. should already know this stuff..

 

[EClyde]

Do you have a method to turn 10 into 7?

 

[Julio Franco]

Do you have a method to turn 10 into 7?

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html

 

[tipstir]

But why didn't anyone where just create a script to run all these changes in one shot.

 

[Julio Franco]

But why didn't anyone where just create a script to run all these changes in one shot.

I don't see anyone removing all shortcuts at once. Surely most are using at least the downloads or documents folder shortcuts, so the best way to accomplish this easily is by using the zip file that we provided.

 

[Capaill]

Hopefully they won't all come back on the next Windows update.

 

[EClyde]

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html

Thanks Man! I use Classic and had not heard of Open til now

 

[DelJo63]

Do you have a method to turn 10 into 7?

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html

Forgive me, but I believe this will restore some Win/7 features and GUI, but the underlying system will still be Win/10 and subject to all those idiosyncrasies . :sigh:

 

[Julio Franco]

Forgive me, but I believe this will restore some Win/7 features and GUI, but the underlying system will still be Win/10 and subject to all those idiosyncrasies . :sigh:

Of course, I'm not pretending to be a magician here, just a suggestion based on his comment.

 

[koblongata]

❤

 

[p51d007]

Do you have a method to turn 10 into 7?

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html

Agree, that's what I use!

 

[Nobina]

Too bad you have to do these registry edits instead of having this as options in Windows. Messing with registry is gonna deter a lot of people.

 

[Capaill]

Too bad you have to do these registry edits instead of having this as options in Windows. Messing with registry is gonna deter a lot of people.

Unfortunately MS don't do options. That's why we need software like Open Shell to have a more mature UI, unlike the picturebook for 3-year-olds that MS forced on us from Win8 onwards. I remember the horror on first installing Win8 and realising their native apps (such as the pdf reader) could not be resized - you either chose minimised or full screen. I'd like to joke that 8 and 10 now refers to the age of their UI designers but I think a 10 year old might do a better job.

 

[xandros98tech]

THANK YOU ))))))

 

[SantosElHalper]

Thank you for this, the reg files work a treat!

 

[CharmsD]

Thanks a lot, these run from the zip file!

 

[OhGod]

Had to join JUST to say thank you for these much-needed tweaks!

 

[Shirley53]

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! I found a way to do this in Windows 7 but it didn't work when I downgraded to Windows 10. I am an extremely happy customer!

 

[John042]

In the Windows 10 64-bit zip file of .reg files, the line with the Wow6432Node registry key in "Enable 3D Objects Folder Win10 64.reg" did not include a UUID part. Was that an omission? The corresponding line in the Disable file did have a UUID.

 

[John042]

Also it looks like "Disable Libraries Folder Win10 64.reg" should have "System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree"=dword:0 (instead of 1).

 

[iculege]

Thank you so very very very much! I've wanted to get rid of those folders in my file browser since they first showed up. I don't save anything on my c: drive except the os (and the files it creates) and programs (and the files they create).

Everything else that actually matters is somewhere else. File explorer is a breath of fresh air now!

 

[amghwk]

I've got rid of Windows 10 itself.

(Keeping actual Windows 7 in it's own partition and switched to Linux as my main OS.)

 

[Snazz]

I appreciate TechSpot for tips like these, as well as the sensible reviews.

Has PowerToys been mentioned before?
FancyZones is a particularly neat component for custom window-snapping grids, especially on wide or vertical displays (instead of the default 2x2 layout).

Other free general utilities I use:
- StartIsGone (hides Start menu button for more taskbar room. I also make a Toolbar of shortcuts with small icons, instead of pinning everything)
- QTTabBar (adds browser-like tabs to File Explorer)
- Everything (fast file search)
- WizTree (shows what files are taking up space - faster than WinDirStat)
- PushBullet (read/dismiss phone notifications & reply to SMS on desktop)
- WeatherBug (see local temperature in the system tray - imperfect but best I've found)
- IrfanView (fast image viewer)
- VirusTotalUploader (drag & drop file scanner)

More specific-purpose ones but worth mentioning:
- RegScanner (fast registry search)
- HardwareInfo (detailed specs)
- SublimeText (advanced text editor that isn't bloated so it starts up instantly)

Networking:
- Mouse without Borders (use multiple PCs with the same M & KB)
- AnyDesk (remote desktop)
- RadminVPN (simple & unlimited virtual LAN)

Media:
- YouTubeDL (works on various sites, bit harder to find now but still does it's trick)
- LosslessCut (quick and easy way to make clips from videos)
- Mp3DirectCut (like above but for cutting MP3s)
- VidCoder (simple video encoder, alternative to Handbrake's UI)
- MkvToolnix (remove foreign dubs & subs from videos with ease)

EDIT: Let us know if you've found similarly-useful tools or better (easier/faster) alternatives!

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Thank you very much for this, I just used the separate reg files and deleted 4 items, not everything.