Windows 10: Jumbled up quick access with no distinction between pinned folders and recent files

I ran into an issue where my Quick Access which includes the default Desktop, Downloads and so on folders and my recent files are all combined in one folder and are not seperated as usual. I am unable to provide a screenshot as I have personal information in the recent items. But all the pinned folders and documents are in one category and not segregated under headings. There are no headings or anything, just a random folder essentially. I tried contacting Microsoft Support yesterday and they tried a few things to no avail and edned up reinstalling Windows 11. However, this issue arised again

:)

 

Recent folders / frequent folders / recent files / quick access

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand your query related to accessing recent items that you have accessed on your PC.



Usually, when you access a file or folder on your PC it shows in the Quick Access menu as recent files.



However, if you are looking for the most recent files that you have accessed from the PC then the simplest way is to access the recent items using the run command.

1. Press Windows key + R. This will open
   Run. Alternatively, you can go to Start and search for
   Run.
   
2. In Run dialog box, type
   shell:recent and hit Enter.
   

This will open a window with all the recent items that you have accessed. You can also pin this folder in the Quick Access menu so that it will be easier for you to access once again.



Kindly follow the steps to pin the recent items on the Quick Access menu.

1. Right click on the Quick Access menu on the left hand pane.
   
2. Select Pin current folder to Quick access.
   

Once you pin the folder you should be able to access the recent items. Refer the screenshot for more information.





Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Quick Access is missing "Frequent Folders" and "Recent Files"

Thanks for the explanation and sorting tips, ThePhinx. I'm now using the "Recent Items" workaround in my File Explorer jump list.

One thing that I hadn't realized was that the (now useless) "Recent Folders" entry pinned in the jump list is somehow linked to its instance pinned to the Quick Access list. Removing it from the jump list removes it from Quick Access, which is not what
I intended. So I'll have to live with a non-working "Recent Folders" in my jump list, I guess.

It's somewhat annoying that I cannot reorder the jump list to move "Recent Folders" lower in the list. I want "Recent Folders" at the top of my Quick Access list, but at the bottom of my jump list. Windows does not seem to allow that.

 

File Explorer Quick Access has Recent Folders pinned but it vanishes..


You can "Pin to Quick Access" the "Recent" folder in Windows 10. But the "Recent" folder is hidden when you "Save As" from an application, which is very annoying. So here is the fix to get Recent Items showing in Save As dialog boxes:

1) Optional step: In File Explorer, if you have already pinned the "Recent" folder to Quick Access, right-click "Recent" and select "Unpin from Quick Access"




2) Start a Command Prompt
3) Copy and paste the entire following line into the Command Prompt, and then press Enter:
mklink /j "%USERPROFILE%\Recent Items" %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent




4) Close the Command Prompt window
5) Back to File Explorer, either click on your Username under Desktop, or browse to C:\Users\<username>
6) You'll notice there is a new yellow shortcut named "Recent Items". Right-click it and choose "Pin to Quick Access"
7) "Recent Items" will now appear under Quick Access.




8) "Recent Items" will also now appear under Quick Access when you use the "Save As" dialog box from any Windows 10 application.




All done! *Party

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