Need some quick help please regarding Windows 11

[LuckyCharms]

Setting up new PC with Windows 11.

When I click on that yellow file icon, or whatever the hell it is, it brings me to a page that normally shows on the left hand side: downloads, documents, pictures, etc.

I had all my pics and documents loaded in and it was fine, but now when I click on the yellow file folder, i don't see the words: documents, pictures, downloads, etc. They're gone.

How do I get them back?

I've been working on this shit all day.

Thanks in advance. HELP!

[LuckyCharms]

1. kick

[moondust]

2. Above the file listing

should be a horizontal strip with options "New", "Sort", "View", etc.

Click on "View" and hover over "Show >" at the bottom and you'll see "Navigation Pane" at the top. Click it.

[LuckyCharms]

3. when i hover over "show" I see the following

compact view
item check boxes
file name extensions
hidden items

[moondust]

5. "Navigation Pane"

should be at the top of that list. I'm not sure why it isn't but...

Maybe try this:

To the right of "View" are three dots "..." Click on that and at the bottom is "Options". Click to get "Folder Options" Click on the "View" tab there. It has a lot of boxes to check but you may not want to check all of them. At least check "Show hidden files, folders, and drives." Maybe also "Show drive letters" and maybe under "Navigation pane" at the bottom check "Show all folders" and "Show Network" and "Show This PC"

After clicking all the boxes you want click "Apply to all folders" at the top.

???

[LuckyCharms]

6. All of the folders i want to get to the main page on the left hand side

are now somehow in a folder that has the first 4 letters of my name.

I managed to get that file to "quick access", but I don't know how to get all the files within that folder FROM quick access TO the left hand side as normal.

???

[moondust]

7. I've never used "quick access"

If I right click on a folder on the left one of the options is "Pin to Quick access"

If you have any folders showing maybe right click and uncheck that option if checked.

???

[LuckyCharms]

8. Thanks to your great help...

I got them to show on the left, but it is showing a bunch of other crap there that is cluttering and I don't want to see. I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of all that crap?

Thank you so much for your help, and if you know how to selectively hide individual folders on the left hand side, would you please let me know?

I appreciate you, thanks.

[moondust]

9. I have a bunch of that stuff, too.

"Gallery" and "OneDrive" and "Music" and "Videos" and others that I don't use but don't know how to get rid of them.

Good luck!

[LuckyCharms]

10. Yes, I don't like that "gallery" and also the file with the first 4 letters of my name appears there

and when I expand it down, it AGAIN shows me pictures, documents, etc.

Microsoft sucks. Nothing is intuitive. I'm not even sure how I got it back to semi-normal.

Thanks again, that was very good of you to help me.

I've been at this shit since this morning.

[moondust]

11. If the first 4 letters

are part of your login/user name then that's probably why that's there. My login/user name is one of the folders on the left.

[LuckyCharms]

12. OK thank you. Must be a normal thing then.

I did some quick research, and to remove "gallery" for example, you have to go into the registry very carefully so you don't destroy windows, and perform some kind of magic in there. I told myself "no way am i doing that".

[LuckyCharms]

4. kick

[Jersey Devil]

13. You may be in the wrong folder

Look for sub-folders for doc, pics, etc. in the folder under your username.