How to see a list of your recently opened files in windows

Windows 10 always track some important actions, including when you open a file, modified, or save it. There are several different ways to see them, with or without additional software.

Here are some options you could use. These may work on Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.

#1 Check your newest files on the Recent Files section

On Windows 10, you can see the recently used files through File Explorer > Quick access > Recent files. This section will store twenty “newest” items ranging from media to document.

Unfortunately, Recent Files is limited by the number and extension. If you want to see a slightly deeper information, check out the next method.

#2 For deeper information, see Recent Items

Recent Items is unique. Not only it will show you media and document, it will also store other activities including folder, programs, and even operating system functions (such as Bluetooth, Control Panel, etc). To access Recent Items, see the guide below.

1. Launch File Explorer, and go to %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\

2. Right-click on the blank area, then Sort by > Date Modified.

3. Now the Recent Items is sorted based on the date.

You may create a shortcut of Recent Items to access it faster.

#3 Third-party software OpenSaveFilesView is highly detailed!

A freeware named OpenSaveFilesView can display detailed information, like the name of the file, extension, order, open time, modified file, created time, file size, and file attributes. This software works by processing data from Windows Registry into something meaningful and easy to read.

OpenSaveFilesView is available from Windows 2000 to Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit. You can download it using this link.

Martin Hendrikx has been writing about technology for years. His freelance career includes everything from blog posts and news articles to eBooks and academic papers. Read more.

Whether you need to check what files were recently opened on your computer for backup reasons or if you want to see what someone else was opening on your computer, the OSFV tool comes in handy. Today we will discuss what the tool is and how you can use it to see what files were recently opened in Windows.

What is Open Save Files View?

Open Save Files View, which we will refer to as OSFV from now on, is another great Nirsoft utility program. It accesses two registry keys (OpenSavePidlMRU and OpenSaveMRU) which allow it to display a comprehensive list of all the files that you have opened with Windows.

The program will display several bits of information regarding each file including:

1. The name of the file
2. The type of file (file extension)
3. The order that they were opened in
4. The time that the last file of any given format was opened
5. The time and date of creation and modification
6. The size of the file
7. Any information related to the file’s attributes

This program works on either 32-bit or 64-bit Windows.

Downloading the Program

Once you are ready to begin, you will need to download the OSFV utility from Nirsoft’s Website. Simply scroll to the bottom of the page and download the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the program based on your operating system.

Once you have downloaded the program, let’s create a folder on the desktop called OSFV, and extract the files from the zip folder into this folder.

Using OSFV

When you have successfully extracted the files, all you need to do is double click on the “OpenSaveFilesView.exe” and wait for the program to load.

Now you may be wondering what else you can do. Truthfully, there is not much you can do with this utility other than view the recently accessed files, information related to them, and export a copy of the information you gather.

Viewing Recently Opened Documents

Let’s say for example, you caught someone on your computer and they claim that they were just using the Internet but you don’t believe them. When they are gone, you can run this utility and check the most recently accessed files.

Begin by clicking on the column that says “Open Time” twice so that the arrow is pointing down. You will see the files listed by which ones were opened most recently.

As you can see in the image above, the most recently accessed files were three image files, a text file, a word document, and a flash video file.

Evidence of File Modification

Now let’s say, for example, you want to prove to someone that you haven’t modified any files recently. You can start by clicking on the “File Modified Time” column till the arrow is facing down like before.

As you can see in this image, four files are listed as recently modified. If you want to prove to someone that the .tif file and the first word document were not modified, you can hold the “Ctrl” button and select the files. Let’s also say you want to show that the FLV file was recently accessed. Just follow the same process till you have your three files selected.

Now that you have selected the files, click on the save button as shown in the image above. Once the save dialog box pops up, select a save location and give the text document a name. For this example, we will call it “Evidence.” Note that the default save location is the same folder where the application is.

Now let’s open the document to see the details of our evidence. Navigate to the file and double click it.

Note that each document has a full list of details associated with it.

Language Options

Open Save Files View is also available in four additional languages: Dutch, German, Greek, and Russian. In order to install the languages simply click on the link for the language you want to download the zip file. Extract the “opensavefilesview_lng.ini” file and move it to the installation folder of the program. In this case, the folder we will move it to is “OSFV” on the desktop.

Once you have done that, you can run the Open Save Files View program again and you will see the program in the selected language. In this case, it is in Dutch.

In order to remove the language pack and go back to the default English, simply delete the language file from the Open Save Files View folder with the executable and relaunch the program.

Akemi Iwaya has been part of the How-To Geek/LifeSavvy Media team since 2009. She has previously written under the pen name “Asian Angel” and was a Lifehacker intern before joining How-To Geek/LifeSavvy Media. She has been quoted as an authoritative source by ZDNet Worldwide. Read more.

When you frequently use a long-standing and convenient feature in Windows, then suddenly see it removed from the latest version, it can be very frustrating. How do you get the missing feature back? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has some helpful solutions to a reader’s “recent file” woes.

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.

The Question

SuperUser reader Mr. Boy wants to know how to get the “All Recent Files” list back in Windows 10:

I can find the listings for recent items, but these only seem to let me see recent items opened by a particular app. For example, I can look at Microsoft Word’s icon and see the documents recently opened in it.

I am unable to find a simple “these are the last ten documents/files opened with any application”, which is very useful if I have not pinned the apps in question to my taskbar. This feature used to exist in Windows XP as “My Recent Documents”:

Is there a way to get this functionality back in Windows 10? For example, I open doc.docx, sheet.xlsl, options.txt, picture.bmp, etc. with different apps and then see these items all listed in one place indicating the files that I have most recently accessed?

How do you get the “All Recent Files” list functionality back in Windows 10?

The Answer

SuperUser contributors Techie007 and thilina R have the answer for us. First up, Techie007:

I believe that the new way of thinking at Microsoft during the Start Menu’s redesign process was that if you want to access “files”, then you should open the File Explorer to access them instead of the Start Menu.

To that end, when you open the File Explorer, it will default to Quick Access, which includes a list of Recent Files like the example shown here:

Followed by the answer from thilina R:

Method 1: Use the Run Dialog Box

• Open the Run Dialog Box with the keyboard shortcut Windows Key+R
• Enter shell:recent

This will open the folder listing all of your recent items. The list can be quite long and may contain items that are not as recent, and you may even want to delete some of them.

Note: The contents of the Recent Items folder is different from the contents of the File Explorer entry Recent Places, which contains folders that have been recently visited rather than files. They often have quite different contents.

Method 2: Make a Desktop Shortcut to the Recent Items Folder

If you like (or need) to look at the contents of the Recent Items folder on a frequent basis, you may want to create a shortcut on your desktop:

• Right-click on the desktop
• In the Context Menu, choose New
• Select Shortcut
• In the box, “type the location of the item”, enter %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\
• Click Next
• Name the shortcut Recent Items or a different name if desired
• Click Finish

You can also pin this shortcut to the taskbar or place it in another convenient location.

Method 3: Add Recent Items to the Quick Access Menu

The Quick Access Menu (also called the Power User’s Menu) is another possible place to add an entry for Recent Items. This is the menu opened by the keyboard shortcut Windows Key+X. Use the path:

• %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\

Contrary to what some articles on the Internet say, you cannot simply add shortcuts to the folder that is used by the Quick Access Menu. For security reasons, Windows will not allow additions unless the shortcuts contain certain code. The utility Windows Key+X menu editor takes care of that problem.

Source: Three Ways to Easily Access Your Most Recent Documents and Files in Windows 8.x [Gizmo’s Freeware] Note: The original article was for Windows 8.1, but this works on Windows 10 at the time of writing this.

Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.

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Windows keeps track of all files visited on a computer and organizes them based on user. From documents to media files, you can check to see which files an employee has opened while at work. The list is designed to help users quickly return to recently accessed files, and is usually erased during routine computer maintenance. You can also check to see when specific files were modified to keep track of whether employees are actively working on projects.

Recently Accessed Files

Type “recent” into the run box and press “Enter” to open the list of recently visited files.

View recently opened files from other users on the same computer by clicking inside the File Explorer location bar and replacing the current user’s name with a different user.

Alternately, type “C:\Users\Username\Recent” into the location bar in (omitting quotes) and press “Enter.”

Check Files by Date Modified

Open the folder containing the file or files you want to check.

Click “Date Modified” to sort the list of files by the date and time the file was last modified.

Click the arrow beside “Date Modified” for an advanced filter to only search for a specific date range.

We show you how to access and clear the all recent files list in Windows 10 for enhanced productivity or privacy.

By now, many will be aware of Windows 10’s recent files feature. Contrary to previous OS versions, it’s tucked away in File Explorer. As it stands, the feature can be a huge aid to productivity, but what if you want to see more than 20 recent files or clear the recent files list?

For that, you’ll need to access the hidden log the system keeps in the background. Microsoft doesn’t have an official name for this, but colloquially it’s known as the all recent files list. Here you can see many more files and places, much like you could from the Windows XP Start Menu.

Once you configure Windows 10’s all recent files list you may also be able to view more file types, such as .zip files, and include hidden files. If you’d like, you can also clear the recent files list each shutdown for enhanced privacy. Let’s jump right into how to configure and access this feature.

Find the All Recent Files List in Windows 10

Time needed: 1 minute.

Windows 10’s recent items folder or all recent files folder is easy to find and provides a lot more value. You can access it with a simple Run command.

Open the all recent files folder

The fastest way to access the all recent files folder is by pressing “Windows + R” to open the Run dialog and typing “recent”. You can then hit enter.

View and modify the all recent files list

The above step will open an Explorer window with all of your recent files. You can edit the options like any other search, as well as delete the recent files you want.

Optional: Compare to the regular Recent files list

You can open your regular recent files list to compare it to the all recent files list you opened via the Run dialog. To do so, press Windows + E to open File Explorer and click on “Quick access” in its sidebar. You should see more file types, as well as folders, and way more files in general.

Clear or Disable All Recent Files in Windows 10

Time needed: 1 minute.

Now that you know how to access this hidden feature, you may be wondering how to clear the all recent files list. You should know that clearing items from Quick Access doesn’t remove them from here, so somebody can still snoop on your activity if you don’t take action. Luckily, that’s easily remedied by following these steps, and if you reverse them you can fix issues if the Windows 10 recent folders aren’t showing in quick access.

Open the Options pane in File Explorer

In the recent files list switch to the “View” tab in your File Explorer ribbon and click “Options”.

Clear your File Explorer history

In the “General” options tab, press the “Clear” button towards the bottom, next to “Clear File Explorer history. Your recent activities and places should now be gone.

Disable the Recent Files List

Alternatively, you can turn off both recent files lists to save yourself a lot of manual clearing at the expense of productivity. In the “General” options tab, untick “Show recently used files in Quick access”. Press “OK”.

Clear the Recent Files List on Shutdown, Reboot, Log-Off

Time needed: 3 minutes.

So far, we’ve shown you how to view the all recent files list and how to disable it. However, what if you want the convivence of the list without shared users spying on your activities? Users on Windows 10 Pro or higher can set a group policy to automatically delete the history on shutdown.

Open the Group Policy Editor

Press “Windows + R” and type “gpedit.msc” to open the Group Policy Editor.

Navigate to the Start Menu and Taskbar template

In the Group Policy editor, use the left-hand folder structure to navigate to “User Configuration> Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar“. Double-click “Clear history of recently opened documents on exit”.

Enable the group policy

Change the policy setting from ‘Disabled’ or ‘Not Configured’ to “Enabled”. Press “OK”.

Your all recent files list will now be accessible for the duration of your login. When you shut down, reboot or log-off they’ll disappear, keeping your Windows 10 recent folders and activities private.

How do I find recently viewed documents on my computer?

Recently Accessed Files

1. Press “Windows-R.”
2. Type “recent” into the run box and press “Enter” to open the list of recently visited files.
3. View recently opened files from other users on the same computer by clicking inside the File Explorer location bar and replacing the current user’s name with a different user.

How do I find recently opened files in Windows?

To access it, follow the steps: Press Windows Key + E. Under File Explorer, select Quick access. Now, you will find a section Recent files which will display all the recently viewed files/documents.

How do I find recent documents?

Opening Recent Documents

1. Click the “File” tab at the top of the Microsoft Word window.
2. Click the “Recent” tab from the side menu.
3. Click the recently closed document from the Recent Documents list to re-open it. …
4. Click “File” and select “Options.”
5. Click the “Advanced” tab and scroll down to the “Display” section.

How do I view history on Windows 7?

You can click on tools on the menu of IE and on the general tab is a section called browsing history. Click on the settings button and you will see options for dealing with the files as well as the path to the files.

How do I find recently opened PDF files?

Reopen PDFs from the last Acrobat session

1. In Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences (Windows), or Acrobat > Preferences (Mac).
2. In the left pane, select General, and then select the Open PDFs From Last Session On Acrobat Launch check box.
3. Click OK.

How do I find recently saved PDF files on my computer?

Method 2: File Explorer

1. Open a File Explorer window on your PC.
2. In the search box on the top right of your screen, enter “type: . pdf” – again, without the quotes, then hit Enter. …
3. In the main window, you’ll see your PDF files displayed. Click on the one you’re looking for to open it in your installed PDF app.

Why does quick access not show recent documents?

Step 1: Open the Folder Options dialog. To do that, click the File menu and then click Options/Change folder and search options. Step 2: Under the General tab, navigate to the Privacy section. Here, make sure that Show recently used files in Quick access check box is selected.

What is a list of recently opened files and folders?

Open Save Files View, which we will refer to as OSFV from now on, is another great Nirsoft utility program. It accesses two registry keys (OpenSavePidlMRU and OpenSaveMRU) which allow it to display a comprehensive list of all the files that you have opened with Windows.

Which option displays the recently opened files?

Open the Start menu and hover your mouse over any recently opened program or recently opened item. Recently opened programs are listed on the left side and have an arrow and recently opened items appear to the right.

Where is my recent folder?

Method 2: Make a Desktop Shortcut to the Recent Items Folder

1. Right-click on the desktop.
2. In the Context Menu, choose New.
3. Select Shortcut.
4. In the box, “type the location of the item”, enter %AppData%MicrosoftWindowsRecent
5. Click Next.
6. Name the shortcut Recent Items or a different name if desired.
7. Click Finish.

Where are recent Word documents stored?

These can be found via File, Open and clicking the Recover Unsaved Documents button found at the very bottom of the Recent File List.

• Open Word and select File, Options.
• In the Options dialog box select Save from the left hand menu.
• Note the AutoRecover files location.
• Open Windows Explorer/My Computer.

How do I clear my recent documents in Windows 7?

To delete, you can either right-click on Recent Items from the start menu and select Clear recent items list or you can empty the folder from inside Windows Explorer. Ccleaner, a system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool, will clear “all recent files” (and much more).

How do I see my browsing history?

Open the Chrome browser on your Android phone or tablet. Tap the Menu icon in the top right corner of the screen next to the address bar. In the drop-down menu, tap History.

Type ‘recently’ in the search bar and click on ‘Show recently opened items in jump list on Start or the Task Bar’ . On clicking on it, it should take you to the personalization Window and from the start category, you have to turn on ‘Show recently opened items in jump list on Start or the Task Bar’. You’re good to go.

How do I find recently used programs?

In any case, checking when a program was last used isn’t difficult.

1. Right-click the program’s icon. …
2. Select “Properties” from the context menu that appears.
3. Open the “General” tab; near the bottom of the dialog box is an “Accessed” property.

How do I view recently opened files or programs?

Recently Accessed Files

1. Press “Windows-R.”
2. Type “recent” into the run box and press “Enter” to open the list of recently visited files.
3. View recently opened files from other users on the same computer by clicking inside the File Explorer location bar and replacing the current user’s name with a different user.

How do I open recently opened documents?

Opening Recent Documents

1. Click the “File” tab at the top of the Microsoft Word window.
2. Click the “Recent” tab from the side menu.
3. Click the recently closed document from the Recent Documents list to re-open it. …
4. Click “File” and select “Options.”
5. Click the “Advanced” tab and scroll down to the “Display” section.

How do I find recently opened PDF files?

Reopen PDFs from the last Acrobat session

1. In Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences (Windows), or Acrobat > Preferences (Mac).
2. In the left pane, select General, and then select the Open PDFs From Last Session On Acrobat Launch check box.
3. Click OK.

How do I find recent files in quick access?

And to get the disappeared recent items back, you have two options to go. Right-click ” Quick Access icon”

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Because it’s easy to misplace a file in Windows 10, File Explorer keeps track of recent files so that you can find them easily. Here are a few ways to find your recent files.

TIP : Hard to fix Windows Problems? Repair/Restore Missing Windows OS Files Damaged by Malware with a few clicks

Video tutorial:

Open File Explorer. Click on Quick Access, if that isn’t the default, opened location.

Look for Recent Files in the lower-right corner. Scroll down to see the last 20 recent files.

You can also do the same thing with some apps, for example, Notepad, WordPad, and Excel, by clicking Start, then right-clicking on the shortcut.

Open Recent Files

Online Help > Open Recent Files

What are Recent Files?

Recent Files are files that have been opened or edited in the recent past.

How do I open a project that I recently used?

To open a project that has been recently used go to File – Open – Recent Projects .

How to clean recent files list in Project Plan 365?

To clear the Recent Files list go to menu File – Options – Advanced tab and uncheck the Recently used file list. Then, restart the application.

How do I change the number of projects that appear in my Recent Projects?

To change the number of files that appear in the list of recently used files click on File – Options – Advanced – click the number of files you want to display.

What is Recent files list?

Recent files list is a list of files that have been recently accessed.

Step by step on how to open a project recently used:

1. Click File – Open.

2. Select Recent Projects and select the desired project from the list.

Step by step on how to change the number of items appearing in the Recent Projects list:

1. Click File – Options – Advanced.

2. Make sure the Recently used file list is marked and select de desired number of entries then press OK. Restart the application.

Easily remove or clear recently accessed files from showing up in File Explorer or the Start menu.

One of the many convenience features of Windows 11 is the Recent Files feature. Windows 11 lists the last 20 files you have accessed under the Recent Files section in the Quick Access directory automatically for you. The OS does this so when the need arises, you can quickly get to your recent files.

Now, the issue with this feature is, anyone can view these files. If you share your computer with your family or peers, they can see which files you have accessed if they visit the Quick Access directory. This can lead to unwanted exposure of confidential or personal information. Windows 11 also lists recent files and also apps under the Recommended Section in the Start Menu.

Do not worry as there are numerous ways you can use to hide or disable this feature if you see fit. This quick and easy guide will take you through the necessary steps required to make it happen.

Hide or Unhide Recent Files and Frequent Folders from Quick Access

First, launch the ‘File Explorer’ by clicking on the Folder icon on the Taskbar.

The File Explorer opens in the Quick Access screen by default, but in case it doesn’t, click on the ‘Quick access’ option at the top of the left pane to open it.

From the Quick Access screen, click on the ‘Menu’ button (three dots) in the File Explorer toolbar area.

Click on ‘Options’ from the menu items.

A new window will appear called ‘Folder options’. Under the Privacy section, you will find the two options saying ‘Show recently used files in Quick Access’ and ‘Show frequently used folders in Quick Access’. Uncheck both boxes and click on ‘Ok.’

When you want this feature back, just head over to the Folder options menu again and check the two boxes and hit okay. Now the files you’ve accessed recently will begin to appear again.

Clear Recent Files and Frequent Folders from Quick Access

If you don’t prefer to disable this feature once and for all, there is an option to clear the Recent Files section manually for one time while you keep the feature enables for ease of access.

Go to File Explorer > Menu > Options to launch the ‘Folder options’ window. Then, under the ‘Privacy’ section, click on the ‘Clear’ button.

This will delete all recently accessed or created files from the Recent Files section in File Explorer.

Remove File(s) from Recommended Section Start Menu

The Start Menu in Windows 11 also shows recent files and along with it, the recent apps that you’ve used. If you don’t want anyone to know about your activity, you can remove recent files and apps that appear here as well.

To remove a single recent file or app from Start Menu Recommended section, you can right-click on the particular file or app and select the ‘Remove from list’ option from the context menu.

This will remove that particular file or app from the list. You have to repeat this process for every file or app you wish to remove.

Alternatively, you can simply disable recent files and apps from showing in the Start menu and nothing you do on your PC will ever show up in the Recommended section.

First, press the Windows key and click on ‘Settings’

Now, click on ‘Personalization’ from the left panel.

Scroll down and click on the ‘Start’ option from the available items.

The third option will be ‘Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer.’ Click on the toggle switch next to it to turn it Off.

Now your recently opened files and apps won’t appear in the Start menu.

These are the methods you can use to hide or unhide Recent Files from the Quick Acess directory and also the Start Menu. We hope this guide serves you well.

If you use Windows 10, you’re probably aware of the Recent Files feature in your Quick Access folder.

As it always shows the files you viewed last, the Recent Files folder can be very handy if you’ve closed something by accident, downloaded several files, or need to resume a task that was interrupted.

However, there may be times when you want to clear your Recent Files folder and start with a blank slate. For example, if you’re someone who takes a lot of screenshots, it can be confusing to have them all sitting there when you go to sort the new from the old.

If you don’t want to mix the old screenshots up with the new ones when starting a new project, it would be prudent to delete your Recent Files history before beginning.

Regardless of your reasons, clearing your Recent Files on Windows 10 is actually relatively simple. Here’s how to do it.

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How to clear your Recent Files in Windows 10

1. Open File Explorer on your computer. It should be an image of a folder pinned to your taskbar, but if it isn’t pinned, you can open any folder to access it.

2. At the top-left of your File Explorer window, click “File,” and then click “Change folder and search options.”

3. Under “Privacy” in the General tab of the pop-up window that appears, click the “Clear” button to immediately clear all your Recent Files, then click “OK.”

There is no confirmation dialog box — your files should be cleared immediately.

Like in earlier Windows Operating Systems, Windows 10 doesn’t have the old type of recent files list in the start menu or anywhere to access quickly. Though it shows the recent 20 files in “Quick access” area that is not handy if you want to see more than 20 recent documents (including folders) on your Windows 10 computer. Today we will be showing you how to get back the recent files list in Windows 10/8.1 and add it to start menu, desktop, and taskbar.

We have earlier explained that similar way for Windows 7 to access recent items. Check out our useful guides about finding the IP address of a network printer on Windows 10 and 5 best screen recorders for Windows 10 that has free and paid versions.

Here is the Quick access on Windows 10 (Applicable for Windows 8.1 too)

This can be accessed from Windows Explorer as below.

Under Quick access in Windows 10, you can find the recently opened files, but it has the limitation of showing the only limited number of items. So, is Recent Items in Windows 10 dead? No! Recent Items in Windows 10 still exist and it can be accessed via below steps.

We will be showing how to add recent items to desktop and taskbar for quick access.

3 Ways to Access Recent Items in Windows 10

1) Windows 10 still record and keep the recently opened files/folders under ‘Recent’ folder. Open it by below command.

Open the Run and type shell:recent as this,

Here is the recent files/folders in Windows 10. You can easily see the path of the folder. As usual, it keeps the different path for every user in the computer.

Hint: If you are an administrator of a computer in Workgroup (home or office) or domain environment, you can see others’ recent items by accessing correct folder under the user profile.

2) If you are the one who wants to access the recent items on your Windows 10 desktop or laptop computer regularly, here is the way to make a shortcut and add wherever you want.

Add Recent items to the Desktop as an icon.

Right click on the empty space in the desktop and create a new shortcut. Type %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\ in the location of the item.

Give a name and create it. You will see the shortcut and it can be opened to access Recent items easily.

3) To make it easier, you can add this shortcut to your taskbar, Start menu and even quick access area. So it will be part of your quick access area to access Recent items in Windows 10.

You would see the recent items folder under Quick Access in Windows Explorer and Start menu now. To add it to the taskbar, right click on the icon from Start menu and select pin to the taskbar as below

Hope this small guide would be helpful to access more recent items (files and folders) on Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 on your laptop or desktop computers.

Dinesh

Dinesh is the founder of Sysprobs and written more than 400 articles. Enthusiast in Microsoft and cloud technologies with more than 15 years of IT experience.

All Windows users are very likely familiar with the Recent Files feature. Windows keeps track of all files modified on the PC and sorts them all. Whenever you open a file in Windows Explorer or from the open and save dialog box, the Windows operating system records the file’s name. Few file names are saved in the Recent folder, while others are saved into the Registry. In this post, we will share how you can find all recent files list in Windows 11/10

How Are Recent Files Feature Useful?

The Recent Files feature reveals all the files you viewed last and helps to access the recent files quickly. If you have closed any files by accident, or files got erased during computer maintenance, or you need to take up a pending piece of work again, you can easily find those files in the Recent Files feature.

This feature also helps organizations to keep a check on their employees. Executives can easily monitor when specific files were modified and keep an eye on employees who are actively working on projects.

Find Recent Files List in Windows 11/10

There are different ways to open Recent Files in Windows 11/10. Be aware that Windows built-in features are limited, and that’s where the third-party software becomes useful.

1. Recent Files section
2. See Recent Items
3. Use third-party software

Let’s discuss them now one by one.

1] Find your latest files on the Recent Files section

Windows keeps a complete record of recently opened files or folders under the ‘Recent’ folder. You can locate it through File Explorer > Quick access > Recent files.

On can easily access the Recent Files folder with a simple Run command. To open the Run dialog, press Windows + R and type Recent in it. Now press the Enter key. It will directly take you to the recent files folder.

This segment stores more than 100 recent items, a gamut of media, as well as documents. If you want to access more files, keep on reading.

2] See Recent Items

Recent Items store complete details of all activities, including folders, programs, and operating system functions.

To access Recent Items, launch File Explorer and press the Enter key

Then sort the recent items by date to check the list of all recent files. You have to right-click on the empty area and Sort by > Date Modified to sort the list.

To access the recent items instantly from your desktop, you can create a shortcut of the Recent Files folder on your desktop. Moreover, you can add this Recent files shortcut to your quick access bar or taskbar.

Use Third-Party Software OpenSaveFilesView

You can take the help of Nirsoft’s free software ‘OpenSaveFilesView’ to find the Recent Files list in Windows 11/10. It assists in displaying detailed information like the name of the file, open time, last modified, created time, file size, and other attributes of the files. It processes data from Windows Registry and presents it in a simple and easy-to-understand form. Here is the list of features:

• Find all File activity.
• Know if any of your files got deleted.
• Search in history.
• Save as HTML.
• No installation is required.

What are the features missing?

• You can not track the list of the file which got recently created.
• If it would have come with a backup solution, i.e., if somebody deletes a file, it gets backed up somewhere, and it would be great/

Added: Another fact is that some of the recently used files are saved in the registry, which is why you don’t see all of them in recent usage. With this, you can see modified, creation, and executed time too. So now, in case somebody deletes a file without telling you, Track it down. You can download the zip file.

How to Clear Your Recent Files in Windows?

To clear your Recent Files, first open File Explorer on your computer. Then click File > Change folder and search options > Privacy > Clear and click on the OK button.

How To Create a Shortcut of the Recent Files Folder on Your Desktop?

To create a shortcut of the Recent Files folder on your desktop, right-click at any space on your computer desktop. Then click create a new shortcut. Type

in the location of the item. Then give it a name you want and create it.

Does Windows 11/10 Have a Recent Folder?

Yes. In Windows 11/10, the Quick Access section of File Explorer has a new folder option called Recent Items.

How Do I Add Recent Folders to Quick Access?

To add Recent Folders to Quick Access, you need to right-click on the pinned Recent folders in File Explorer. Here select Unpin from Quick Access from the context menu.

How Do I Find Recently Copied Files?

To find recently copied files, you need to press Windows+V. The Clipboard panel displays the history of the copied items. However, it provides a history of the last 25 copied items only.

We hope that this small guide to find all recent files list in Windows would be helpful to you to access recent files and folders on Windows 11/10.

With instructions on how to turn off the display of recently opened files on File Explorer of the following article, the following article will help you limit the display of accessed items on Laptop.

• How to show and hide files in Windows 10
• How to show or hide files in Windows 7

Windows 10 will display a list of files you have opened recently with Quick Access. If you have no need to use or do not want to display recent visits, you can turn off this feature on your laptop or PC . If you do not know how to do it, follow this article right away!

1. What is Quick access in File Explorer?

Quick access in File Explorer is a quick access item in Windows 10 you can access recently opened files and frequently opened items in the Quick access section.

2. What are recently opened files (Frequent folders)?

Frequent folders is a place to store folders (folders) that you frequently open, usually folders like Desktop, Downloads, This PC,. The computer will automatically adjust the order of recently accessed items based on the frequent folders. according to your usage.

3. What are frequently opened files (Recent files)?

Recent files or recently opened files is the display of recently opened files, there will be about 20 recently opened files from different software. The Recent files section can help users find and open closed files faster, especially in case the previous file name is not remembered.

4. How to turn on and off the display of Frequent Folders and Recent Files

How to enable Frequent Folder and Recent Files

Step 1: Open Files Explorer > Select File > Change folder and search options.

Step 2: In the Privacy section > Select Show frequently used files in Quick access to enable the display of Frequently opened files.

Step 3: In the Privacy section > Select Show recently used folders in Quick access to turn on the display of Recently opened folders.

How to turn off Frequent Folder and Recent Files

Step 1: Open Files Explorer > Select File > Change folder and search options.

Step 2: Under Privacy > Uncheck Show recently used files in Quick access to turn off the display of Recently opened files.

Step 3: Under Privacy > Uncheck Show frequently used folders in Quick access to turn off the display of frequently opened folders.

Above is a guide to turn off the display of recently opened files on Windows, good luck!

JetBrains Rider keeps track of your actions and navigation history, and offers some commands that let you navigate to places where you have edited or just studied the code.

The lists of viewed/edited files are stored separately for each solution you open and it is saved when you close the solution. This means that you can invoke this command as soon as you open a solution to get the list of the files you worked with in previous working sessions.

You can delete any item from the list of viewed/edited files by pressing Delete when this item is selected.

Navigate to recently viewed files

View | Recent Files

This command helps you quickly find a file that you have opened recently in the current solution.

When the popup appears, you can press Ctrl+E once again or tick the corresponding checkbox to only show recently changed files.

Navigate to recently edited files

View | Recently Changed Files

This command is similar to Go to Recent Files , but it allows you to navigate to symbols or files that you have recently modified in the current solution.

When the popup appears, you can press Ctrl+Shift+Comma once again or clear the corresponding checkbox to show all recently viewed files.

Find recent locations

You can also check your recently viewed or changed code using the Recent Locations popup.

To open the Recent Locations popup, press Ctrl+Shift+E . The list starts with the latest visited location at the top and contains code snippets.

While in the popup, use the same shortcut or select the Show changed only checkbox to see only the locations with changed code.

To search for a code snippet, in the Recent Locations popup, start typing your search query. You can search by the code text, filename, or breadcrumbs.

To delete a location entry from the search results, press either Delete or Backspace .

Keep in mind that the deleted location is also removed from the list of entries that you access with the Ctrl+Alt+Left shortcut.

Jump back to previous edit

Navigate | Last Edit Location

This command brings your caret to the place in your solution where you have made some changes. You can invoke this command several times to go further back in your editing history.

Move through navigation history

Navigate | Back/Forward ( or on the toolbar)

Using these commands, you can quickly navigate through the history of your movements in the codebase. Whenever you move in the editor and switch between editor tabs, as well as when you use Navigate and search commands (except Back and Forward of course), the navigation history is recorded and you can go backward and forward within it.

Navigate VCS changes in document

If you edit a file that is under version control, there are several ways to move between VCS changes: you can use the navigation commands, keyboard shortcuts, and the change markers.

Navigate to the next/previous change in the editor:

Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Down / Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Up .

From the main menu, choose Navigate | Next / Previous Change .

Point to a change marker, and click or .

Navigate to the place of your last edit:

From the main menu, choose Navigate | Last Edit Location

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Quick Access for Windows 11 is a handy way to get at your most recent files, but sometimes it breaks. Here’s how to see your recent files again.

Quick Access in Windows 11 allows you to view the most frequently used folders and recent files at a glance. Unfortunately, for some users, Quick Access no longer shows the recent files in File Explorer.

The recent files section in Quick Access can go missing due to several reasons. Here we show you some quick troubleshooting steps to help you restore Recent Files under Quick Access in Windows 11.

1. Enable Jump List in the Settings Panel

Quick Access may stop showing the recent files section if you have disabled the Show recently opened items in Start, Jump List, and File Explorer option in Settings. This is a conflicting situation, as enabling this option will also turn on the recommended section in the Start menu and make it look organized.

To enable Jump List for File Explorer:

1. Press Win + R to open Run.
2. Type ms-settings: and click OK to open the Settings app. Do not forget the colon.
3. In the Settings app, open the Personalization tab.
4. Next, click on the Start option in the right pane.
5. Here, toggle the switch for Show recently opened items in Start, Jump List, and File Explorer and set it to On.

That’s it. Now open a document or any other file, and it should immediately appear under the Recent Files section in Quick Access.

As discussed earlier, enabling Jump List means the recent files and apps will appear under the Recommended section of your Start menu. It is an inconvenient solution for some. But unfortunately, there isn’t a workaround yet.

If the Jump List option is already set to On, move to the next step.

2. Enable Recent Files in Quick Access Properties

You can enable or disable recent files and other properties for the Quick Access feature. Here is how to enable recent files from the Folder Options.

1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer.
2. Right-click on Quick Access.
3. Click on Show more options and then click on Options.
4. In the Properties window, open the General tab.
5. Next, in the Privacy section, check Show recently used files in the Quick Access option.
6. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Now open any file to see if it appears under Recent File in Quick Access.

At times, checking the Show recently used files option in Quick Access options doesn’t stick after applying the changes. It happens if you have disabled Jump List as discussed in the first method.

Follow method one in this article and enable the Jump List option in the Start settings to resolve the issue.

3. Clear File Explorer History

Clearing the File Explorer history may help you fix recent files not showing up in Quick Access.

To clear File Explorer history:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Right-click on Quick Access, select Show more options > Options.
3. Click the Clear button under the Privacy section.
4. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

4. Restore Folder Options to Default

You can reset the Folder Options for Quick Access to the default configuration to fix this problem. Note that the reset will remove all the customization you may have made to Folder Options and require reconfiguration.

To restore folder options:

1. Right-click on Quick Access, and then select Show more options > Options.
2. Click the Restore Defaults button.
3. Click OK to save the changes.
4. Open File Explorer and check for any improvements.

5. Create a New Local User Account

Another way to restore the Recent Files in Quick Access is to create a new local user account. Follow these steps to create a new local user account in Windows 11.

1. Press the Win + I to open Settings.
2. In the left pane, click on the Account tab.
3. In the right pane, click on Family & other users.
4. Scroll down to the Other users section.
5. Click the Add account button for Add other users.
6. To create an account without adding Microsoft account, cick on I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
7. Next, click on Add a user without a Microsoft Account.

That’s it. Now login with your new user account and Recent Files will show again under Quick Access.

Show Missing Recent Files in File Explorer’s Quick Access

You can solve the curious case of Quick Access not showing Recent Files in File Explorer by enabling the Jump List option in the Start settings. Additionally, ensure the Recent Files option is enabled in the Folder Options. As a last resort, create a new local user account as administrator to restore the functionality.

Windows 10’s File Explorer makes it easy to find files in a flash. but there’s always room for improvement.

Tashreef is a developer and works as a technical writer at MakeUseOf. With a bachelor’s degree in Computer Applications, he has over 5 years of experience and covers Microsoft Windows and everything around it. When not looking for a missing semicolon or churning out text, you can find him trying FPS titles or looking for new animated shows and movies.

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With Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced an all-new Start menu. The new Start menu in Windows 11 displays pinned app icons at the top and recent items at the bottom of the menu (in the Recommended section), as you might have noticed by now.

Some users might like the idea of displaying recent items on the Start menu, but some users do not like it.

To start with, one can always view recently opened files by opening File Explorer’s Quick Access. Besides that, the Start menu (at least on our PC) takes some time to update the recent files list. So, it does not always display the most recently accessed files.

Luckily, if you do not like seeing your recently opened files on the Start menu every time you open it, you can configure the Start menu not to show recent files. However, there is a catch. When you disable recent files from the Start menu, space will not be utilized to show pinned apps. That is, the space reserved for recent items will remain vacant, as shown in the picture below.

Additionally, when you disable recent files on the Start menu, recent files will not be shown in Quick Access and Jump Lists as well.

Disable Windows 11 Start menu recent files list

Anyways, here is how to configure the Start menu not to show recent files in Windows 11.

Step 1: Open the Settings app. You can easily open the Settings app by right-clicking on the Start button on the taskbar and then clicking the Settings option.

Step 2: In the left pane of Settings, click Personalization. On the right side, click Start.

Step 3: Finally, turn off the option labeled Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer. That is it!

The Start menu, Jump Lists and File Explorer’s Quick Access will not display recently opened files from now onwards.

Remove individual files from the Start menu in Windows 11

If you would instead like to remove an individual file from the recent items list, you can do so as well. Here is how.

Step 1: Open the Start menu.

Step 2: Perform a right-click on the file that you would like to remove from the Start menu and then click the Remove from list option. This will remove the file from the Start menu immediately.

Tip: The Start menu, by default, displays a total of six recent files. If you want to view more recent files, click on the More button in the Recommended section of the Start menu.

If you are using Windows 10 or have seen the OS in any computer, you might be aware of the new Home aka Quick Access View introduced in Windows 10 File Explorer (previously known as Windows Explorer or My Computer).

This new Quick Access or Home view is the default page of File Explorer in Windows 10 and whenever you open File Explorer using its shortcut icon or WIN+E hotkey, this new view is shown in File Explorer. It shows frequently used folders and recently used files list in File Explorer as shown in following screenshot:

Although Microsoft designed this new view for users convenience but most of the Windows 10 users don’t like this default view. They find it annoying as they have to click on This PC link in left-side pane to access disk drives each time they open File Explorer. Also sometimes users don’t want to show frequently accessed folders or recently opened files in File Explorer due to privacy issues.

In older preview builds of Windows 10, Microsoft didn’t provide any way to disable/remove this new Quick Access or Home view in File Explorer and users had to use Registry tweaks to get rid of this view such as deleting items keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\HomeFolder\NameSpace\DelegateFolders key in Registry Editor using similar instructions given in following exclusive AskVG tutorial:

If you are using Windows 10 and want to do any of following things:

• Remove frequently used folders list from Quick Access/Home view in File Explorer
• Remove recently used files list from Quick Access/Home view in File Explorer
• Get rid of the new Quick Access/Home view in File Explorer

This tutorial will definitely help you. Just follow these simple steps to bring back the old This PC view in Windows 10 File Explorer:

1. Open File Explorer, click on View tab in Ribbon and then click on Options.

2. Now to remove frequent folders and recent files list from Quick Access/Home view, uncheck following 2 options present under Privacy section:

• Show recently used files in Quick Access
• Show frequently used folders in Quick Access

It’ll immediately remove these 2 sections from Quick Access view in File Explorer.

3. If you want to completely get rid of Quick Access/Home view from File Explorer, change the option “Open File Explorer to” from “Quick access” to “This PC” using drop-down list. It’ll set the old This PC view as default in File Explorer and you’ll always have disk drives page visible whenever you open File Explorer.

4. One more thing! If you also want to remove the unnecessary 6 folders “Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos” from This PC and extra icons such as OneDrive, Quick Access, etc from Navigation Pane in This PC, check out following tutorials:

Since the launch of Windows ® 10 many users have endured minor skirmishes with it to try and make it behave more like Windows 7. Among the frustrations are the changes to the Start menu, which, although returned to us since the dark days of Windows 8, does not always function in a way familiar to Windows 7 folks.

Adjusting to Windows 10

If you’ve recently made the switch to Windows 10, as many people recently did to get in on the last wave of free upgrades, here are a few tips for managing list settings within the Start menu to better mimic Windows 7.

The first thing to note is that Windows 10 can display, as Windows 7 did, a list of recently opened files but the approach is slightly different. To view the list, click an app’s icon in the All Apps list in the Start menu, or right-click the icon for an open app in the Windows taskbar. These actions will also display “jump lists” of the most common tasks within specific apps.

If you right-click on a tile in the Start menu, you will also see a list of frequently visited websites and a Task list. The other handy option here is a menu for resizing the selected tile. You can, of course, simply pin your most used apps as tiles in the Start menu, but they will appear in the Most Used lists at the top of the Start menu.

Turning on Jump Lists

If you don’t see the above lists, it’s likely the case that the option to view them is not enabled in Settings. To turn on this option:

• From the Start menu >> Settings
• Click the Personalization icon
• In the left-hand list, click Start
• From within the Start settings, enable Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar

Finally, if you use Windows 10 on a tablet or other touchscreen device, press and hold an app tile and then tap the Menu icon in the lower-right corner of the tile to see these same lists.

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

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This post shows students and new users how to disable or hide recently used items, including files and folders in Windows 11.

By default, when you use Windows 11 keeps track of some of your recent activities, including files and folders access, recently used apps and other are added to the “Recommended” section on the Start menu.

This feature is there to help you get to the stuff you recently opened or used to improve your productivity. It also makes it easier to find items that you have been working on in file explorer. Some might find this useful while other see it as privacy issues.

This feature can completely be disabled so that recent activities are hidden and not added to the “Recommended” section of the Start menu.

If you’re a student or new user looking for a Windows computer to use, the easiest place to start is Windows 11. Windows 11 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. Windows 11 is the successor to Windows 10 and it’s expected to be released later this year.

When you’re ready, continue the the steps below

Disable recently opened items

To disable or turn off recently used items tracking on Windows 11, click on Start and go to Settings as shown in the image below.

In Systems Settings page, locate the sidebar on the left and click “Personalization.” In the options to the right of the window, scroll down and select “Start.”

In “Start” settings page, toggle the switch next to “Show recently opened items in Start, Jump lists, and File Explorer” to “Off.”

That will set Windows 11 to not remember recent items in the Recommended section.

Doing this will have no effect on your web browsing history and other web activities. To disable tracking in the browser, you’ll have to do that within the browser settings page.

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to disable or turn off recently used items in Windows 11. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report.

Posted on Last updated: February 17, 2021

When you open Quick Access in Windows 10 File Explorer, you may notice that you can see all of your recently visited files and folders in a list. While it’s a quite handy but there are times when they lead to a pretty nasty privacy breach, for example, you visited a personal folder. Some other user also has access to your PC then he or she might be able to access your personal files or folders based on your recent history using the quick access in File Explorer.

Your recent items and frequent places are stored in the following location:

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

Now you have an option to clear your history which will clear the list of your recently visited files and folders from quick access menu. While you also can turn off recent items and frequent places altogether, but if you like having your history, you need to clear your recent files and folders history every once in a while. Anyway, without wasting any time, let’s see How to Clear Your File Explorer Recent Files History in Windows 10 with the help of the below-listed tutorial.

Clear Your File Explorer Recent Files History in Windows 10

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Reset and Clear Recent Items & Frequent Places in File Explorer Options

Note: Clearing File Explorer history also clear all any locations you have pinned to jump lists and pinned to quick access, deletes the address bar history of File Explorer etc.

1. Open File Explorer Options using any of the method listed here.

2. Make sure you are in the General tab, then click on Clear under Privacy.

3. That’s it you have Clear Your File Explorer Recent Files History in Windows 10.

4. Once you clear the history, recent files will disappear until you open a file or visit a folder in File Explorer.

Method 2: Clear Your File Explorer Recent Files History in Windows 10 Settings

1. Press Windows Key + I to open Settings then click on Personalization icon.

2. From the left-hand menu, click on Start.

3. Next, turn off or disable the toggle under “Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar“.

Method 3: Clear individual items from recent files in Quick Access

1. Press Windows Key + E to open Quick Access in File Explorer.

2. Right-click on the recent file or folder for which you want to clear the history and select “Remove from Quick access“.

3. This would successfully remove that particular entry from the Quick Access.

Recommended:

That’s it, you successfully learned How to Clear Your File Explorer Recent Files History in Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this tutorial then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.

Aditya is a self-motivated information technology professional and has been a technology writer for the last 7 years. He covers Internet services, mobile, Windows, software, and How-to guides.

Control how many documents are displayed in your Recent Documents list

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Microsoft Word 2016 in the Microsoft 365 suite gives you quick access to files you’ve recently worked on. Did you know you can change the number of documents that appear there? Here’s how to customize this list to make your word processing fast and efficient.

Your Recent Documents list is found under the File menu located in the top menu of Word. Click Open in the left bar that appears. Select Recent, and to the right, you will see a list of your recent documents. Simply click the document you want to open it. If you haven’t worked with any documents yet, this area will be empty.

Changing Recently Displayed Documents Setting

By default, Microsoft Word in the Microsoft 365 suite sets the number of recent documents to 25. You may change this number by following these simple steps:

Click on File in the top menu.

Select Options in the left bar to open the Word Options window.

Select Advanced in the left bar.

Scroll down to the Display subsection.

Next to “Show this number of Recent Documents” set your preferred number of recent documents to be displayed.

Using the Quick Access List

You’ll notice below this a checkbox item labeled “Quick access this number of Recent Documents.” By default, this box is unchecked and is set to four documents.

Checking this option will display a quick access list of your recent documents in the left bar immediately under the File menu, offering even faster access to past documents.

New Word 2016 Features

If you’re new to Microsoft Word 2016, take a quick five-minute walkthrough of what’s new.

by ComputerSluggish · Published 17 May 2021 · Updated 26 October 2021

Keep Recently Opened Files Hidden In Quick Access On Windows 10 PC Or Laptop

If you want to hide your recently opened files from the quick access list in File Explorer, then this can easily be done by changing a setting.

This will mean that if anyone was to use your computer they won’t be able to see what you have recently opened from File Explorer. They would have to open a program or search the program in the start menu, where it will say what file was last opened.

How To Hide Recently opened Files In Quick Access In Windows 10:

1. Open File Explorer > On the top ribbon click View > Options

2. On the Folder Options window click the General tab

3. Under Privacy untick Show recently used files in Quick access > Press Apply and OK

Your recently opened Files will no longer be displayed within quick access in File Explorer. If you want to show them again just do the above but tick the “Show recently used files in Quick access” option.

While working on Windows you might have noticed that Windows makes a history of all the recently opened files and frequently used folders in the form of recent files and frequent folders. You can easily find these recent files and frequent folders in File Explorer under Quick access.

If you are one of the users who is much concerned about his privacy, then surely you must not be a big fan of Quick access in Windows 10. Moreover, quick access folder opens by default every time File Explorer is opened, listing recent files along with frequent folders.

So, if you are looking for a method to turn off recent files and frequent folders then you have landed at the right place. In this article, we will not only help you to clean the recent files and frequent folders history but also help you in completely disabling them.

How to Clear the Recent Files and Frequent Folders History:

1. Open Run Window by pressing Windows button + r.
2. Now type in the following command and click Ok.
   %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
   
   
3. This will open a window containing a list of all the recent items. Press Ctrl + A to select all the items present there and permanently delete them by using Shift + Delete.

This will clear all the traces of recent files and frequent folders. You can confirm this opening File Explorer.

How to Disable Recent Files List in Windows 10:

Now once we have cleared recent files history, our next move is to disable recent files list.

Before getting started with the steps, please note the below steps will disable only recent files not the frequent folders.

1. Click on Windows start button and select Settings.
   
2. In the Settings, click on Personalization.
   
3. In the next window click on Start in the left panel.
   
4. In the right panel turn off “Show recently added apps”, and “Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar”.

Once you turn off recently opened items this will also automatically clear all recent files from jump lists and File Explorer.

How to Disable the Recent Items and Frequent Folders List using Group Policy Editor:

1. Open Run window pressing Windows Key + r.
2. Now type in the following and click Ok.
   gpedi If you do not want your recently opened files to show up in Quick Access then learn how to turn off recent files and frequent folders in Windows 10.

t.msc

This will open Local Group Policy Editor. In Group Policy Editor window navigate to User Configuration -> Administrative Templates and select Start Menu and Taskbar.

In the setting list that is populated in the right panel search for Do not keep history of recently opened documents and double click on it.

Similarly, you can clear recently opened documents by double-clicking on Remove Recent Items menu from Start Menu.

That’s it, guys. Now since you have successfully turned off recent files and frequent folders in Windows 10 you no need to worry about the recent files list that keeps on populating every time you open a file or document. This will be really beneficial if you wish to conceal your recent files and folders from other as a part of privacy and security.

If you have other means to disable the same then please feel free to share them in the comment box below.

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How to View “Recent Items” in the Windows 7 Start Menu

Posted by Ann Westerheim on 8/3/11 2:26 PM

If you enjoy the convenience of being able to quickly access your recent items (Word files, Excel files, etc) without needing to open the application first or find the files in your folders, you can have a link to all of them right in your start menu.

A few clients who recently moved to Windows 7 have asked us about where their “recent items” went. By default, the start menu doesn’t show them, but it’s easy to add. just a few mouse clicks.

1. Click on the “Start” button in the lower left hand side of your screen and the Start menu will appear.

2. Right click on the Start Menu and select “Properties“. (The word “Properties” will display after you right-click.)

3. In the Task Bar and Start Menu Properties select the “Start Menu” tab and hit the “Customize” Button.

4. Check “Recent Items” and then hit the “OK” button. Going forward, you’ll be able to directly access all your recent files directly from the start menu.