Microsoft Removes 3D Objects, Windows 10’s Most Useless Folder, From File Explorer

Microsoft is no longer treating possibly the most unused folder, 3D Objects, as a special folder in File Explorer.

With the release of Windows 10 1703, otherwise known as the Creators Update, Microsoft included a new application called ‘3D Viewer’ that allowed you to view and manipulate 3D models.

As a place to store all those 3D object files that Microsoft thought people would be downloading, they created a ‘3D Objects’ folder in each user’s user profile directory. This folder was given a unique icon and was designated as a special folder in File Explorer, as shown below.

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However, most people did not find 3D Viewer as useful as Microsoft, and the most popular search queries regarding the ‘3D Objects folder’ was how to remove it.

Microsoft finally got the hint, and with yesterday’s release of Windows 10 Insider build 21322 in the Dev channel, the 3D Objects folder is no longer displayed as a special folder in File Explorer. However, Windows 10 users can still access it directly from the %UserProfile% folder.

“The 3D Objects folder will no longer be shown as a special folder in File Explorer after updating to this build. If you need to access this folder, you can do so via typing %userprofile% in File Explorer or through the navigation pane option “Show all folders,” Microsoft explained in the Windows 10 Insider build 21322 release notes.

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While this is not a particularly big change for Windows users, it is one less folder cluttering Windows 10’s File Explorer, which can quickly become filled with extraneous devices and drives.