File Explorer is the backbone of Windows 11, allowing you to navigate your hard drives and manage your documents. If you look at the very bottom edge of any File Explorer window, you will see a thin grey strip known as the Status Bar. This bar displays brief information, such as the total number of items in a folder or the file size of an image you have clicked on. While mildly useful, many users simply rely on the “Details” view pane for this information and find the Status Bar to be an unnecessary waste of vertical pixels on smaller laptop screens. If you want a cleaner interface, you can easily hide it.
How to Hide the Status Bar
The toggle for the Status Bar is located within the classic Folder Options menu, which Microsoft has slightly buried in Windows 11.
- Open File Explorer (press the Windows Key + E, or click the yellow folder icon on your taskbar).
- Look at the top toolbar in the File Explorer window. At the far right end, click the icon that looks like three horizontal dots (…) to open the “See more” menu.
- From the drop-down list, click on Options.
- The “Folder Options” dialogue box will appear on your screen. Click the View tab at the top.
- In the “Advanced settings” box, scroll down until you find the checkbox labelled Show status bar.
- Click the checkbox to uncheck it.
- Click the Apply button, and then click OK.
The thin grey strip at the bottom of all your File Explorer windows will instantly disappear, providing a slightly taller viewing area for your files and folders.