Add Process ID to Title Bar of File Explorer in Windows 10

[Batu69]

In Windows 10 Anniversary Update, there is an interesting secret tweak. When applied, it makes File Explorer show the process ID (PID) of the explorer.exe process which owns the currently opened window. Here is how to enable and how to use this option.

The PID visible in the title bar is a very useful option for those who enable folders to be opened in a separate process or use the undocumented /separate switch for the Explorer.exe app. See the following article:

 

Now, let's see how the PID information in the title bar can help you to identify the required process. Enable it as follows.

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Go to the following Registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

    

 

3. Here, create a new 32-bit DWORD value and name it ShowPidInTitle. Set its data value to 1.

 

 

 

Note: Even if you are running a 64-bit Windows version, you still need to create a 32-bit DWORD value.

 

4. Sign out from Windows 10 to apply the changes made by this tweak.

 

Alternatively, you can just restart the Explorer shell in Windows 10.

 

 

Now, the File Explorer app will show the process PID in the title bar:

 

 

Using this PID, you can identify the appropriate process in Task Manager quickly (or in any other process manager which is able to show the process ID). It can be useful when you need to kill or analyze a specific explorer.exe instance.

 

 

Note: This feature is not officially announced and can stop working at any moment. Keep this in mind. As of this writing, I managed to get it working in Windows 10 build 14393.

 

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[straycat19]

It is a sad state of affairs when you don't even know if a tweak in Windows will keep working, something has not been an issue with previous versions.  Just another indicator of how 'Beta' Windows 10 still is.  Install the Enterprise LTSB evaluation version and if you dislike the nags, reinstall it every 90 days. At least you can avoid some of the common pitfalls in the other versions.