Windows – How to see hidden files and folders in the open file dialog in Windows 10

See this writeup on File System Redirector.

If a 32 bit program attempts to access the System32 folder it will be invisibly redirected to the %windir%\SysWOW64 directory, to maintain compatibility between 32/64 bit applications.

The %windir%\System32 directory is reserved for 64-bit applications. Most DLL file names were not changed when 64-bit versions of the DLLs were created, so 32-bit versions of the DLLs are stored in a different directory. WOW64 hides this difference by using a file system redirector.

In most cases, whenever a 32-bit application attempts to access %windir%\System32, the access is redirected to %windir%\SysWOW64. Access to %windir%\lastgood\system32 is redirected to %windir%\lastgood\SysWOW64. Access to %windir%\regedit.exe is redirected to %windir%\SysWOW64\regedit.exe. If the access causes the system to display the UAC prompt, redirection does not occur. Instead, the 64-bit version of the requested file is launched.

To prevent this problem, either specify the SysWOW64 directory to avoid >redirection and ensure access to the 32-bit version of the file, or run the 32- > bit application with administrator privileges so the UAC prompt is not displayed. Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP: UAC is not supported. Certain subdirectories are exempt from redirection.

Access to these subdirectories is not redirected to %windir%\SysWOW64:

%windir%\system32\catroot

%windir%\system32\catroot2

%windir%\system32\driverstore

%windir%\system32\drivers\etc

%windir%\system32\logfiles

%windir%\system32\spool