Windows 10: Recent Files section of Quick Access in File Explorer is not showing up no matter what,...

I have tried 100 different things already and none of them are working, I restarted windows, I reset gpedit, I reindexed, I reset search functions, and yet for some reason the "frequently used" folders have disappeared. Windows is up to date. The recent files is really convenient and I would really like to have them back.

:)

 

How to hide recent files from Quick Access

Hi,

Let me assist you with this.

Get rid of the new Quick Access/Home view in File Explorer

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.

Let us know if you have any questions again on quick access. We are happy to help!

 

Recent files and folders not showing in Quick access

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand that you are unable to see files and folders under the Quick access section.

The Quick access section will show all the recent files accessed under the recent files section and the most recent folder on the left pane.

As per the screenshot provided by you, I can see that the options are already checked. I suggest you to click on the
Restore Defaults button to restore the settings back to default and check if that helps.

You can also create a new user account and check if the options are working. Follow the steps from the article

Create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10 to create a new user account.

Also, I suggest you to run DISM command to check for system file corruptions and repair them. Please follow the steps mentioned below to run DISM scan:

1. Type Command prompt in the search bar.
   
2. Right click on the Command prompt icon and select
   Run as administrator.
   
3. Type the command DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
   and press Enter.
   
4. Restart the PC.
   

Hope it helps.

Please reply with the status of the issue, we will be glad to help you further.

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

File Explorer - Quick Access Does Not Show Recent Files

Try clicking on view...then on the right side there is options...click and select change folder and search options; there is a setting there under privacy for show recent files in quick access.