Recently someone on one of the forums ran into some issue and he wanted to hide the “Open in Windows Explorer” option from the Actions menu in a document library.

So here’s how you can hide the “Open in Windows Explorer” option from the Actions menu.

Note: After successfully completing all the steps mentioned below only Site Owners will be able to see the “Open with Windows Explorer” option.


1. Make a copy of the DefaultTemplate.ascx located in the X:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\CONTROLTEMPLATES\.

2. Rename the copy to CustomDefaultTemplate.ascx

3.  Open the CustomDefaultTemplate.ascx in any text editor and Find the line ID=”OpenInExplorer “ (usually line 1812 ).

4. Change PermissionsString=”UseClientIntegration“ to PermissionsString=”ManageWeb“ and save the file.

5. Do an IISRESET

6. Now if any user, other than the Site Owner Logins into the SharePoint Site they will not be able to see the “Open with Windows Explorer” option.