Windows 10: Recent folders stopped showing under the Quick Access tab

Hey, everyone!My Quick Access tab stopped showing the recent folders as usual. Yesterday, I did some junk file cleaning on my PC I used Total PC Cleaner and CCleaner and I believe that's what caused this.I have checked the option for Quick Access and both recent files and recent folders are enabled.The recent items do show up on File Explorer, but, as I navigate between folders, they don't appear under Quick Access as they used to.I have performed the following actions:1 I ran the "del /F /Q %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations" command in Command Prompt, as I was told t

:)

 

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

 

Quick Access Not Working

Hi Dustin,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Follow the below steps to repair the broken database of Quick Access.

Method 1:

Before repairing the database, try to disable and then re-enable Quick Access to see if it helps. To disable and re-enable Quick Access, follow the below steps:

Step 1: To remove frequent folders and recent files list from Quick Access, open File Explorer > click on View tab in Ribbon >
click on Options > Change folder and search options to open Folder Options.

Step 2: You’ll have to uncheck the following two check-boxes present under the Privacy section to disable Quick Access:

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

Step 3: Click Apply and Exit. The action will instantly remove these two sections from Quick Access in File Explorer. (To clear your Quick Access history press the ‘Clear’ button against Clear File Explorer History).

Step 4: Then, check
the following two check-boxes again to enable Quick Access that you did in
Step2.

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

Step 5: Restart the PC once and check the issue and if the issue persist, follow the
Method 2.

Method 2:

The Method 2 will repair the broken database of Quick Access.

Step 1: Open File Explorer and paste this folder path: %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations in the address bar and hit Enter.

Step 2: Once the folder is opened, press ‘Ctrl’ key and the ‘A’ from your keyboard to select all of its contents and delete it.

Step 3: Do the same for this folder path as well: %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

Step 4: Restart the PC once and check the issue.

Hope it helps.

Shafeeq Ali Khan

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

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