Windows 10: Turn On or Off Recent Items and Frequent Places in Windows 10

How to: Turn On or Off Recent Items and Frequent Places in Windows 10

How to Turn On or Off 'Recent Items' and 'Frequent Places' in Jump Lists in Windows 10


Recent items is a list of the files that you have used or opened recently. These items are displayed as "Recent files" in Quick access, and under "Recent" in jump lists on the Start menu and taskbar.

Frequent places is a list of folders, websites, etc... that you have opened recently. These items are displayed as "Frequent folders" in Quick access folder, "Frequent places" under File in File Explorer, and under "Frequent" and "Recent" in jump lists on the Start menu and taskbar.

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off to store and display recent items and frequent places in File Explorer, Quick access, jump lists, Start menu, and taskbar for your account or specific or all users in Windows 10.

When you turn off recent items and frequent places, it will reset and clear them all except any locations you pinned to Jump Lists.

Your recent items and frequent places are stored in the folder locations below.

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations



Contents

• Option One: Turn On or Off "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for Current User in Settings app
• Option Two: Turn On or Off "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for Current User using a REG file
• Option Three: Enable or Disable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for Specific Users in Local Group Policy Editor
• Option Four: Enable or Disable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for All Users using a REG file

EXAMPLE: Where you will see Recent Items and Frequent Places

(Jump Lists in Start menu)




(Jump Lists on taskbar)






(Quick access)




(File menu in File Explorer)









OPTION ONE [/i] Turn On or Off "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for Current User in Settings app
1 Do step 2 or step 3 below for how you would like to open Personalization in the Settings app.

2 Right click or press and hold on your desktop, click/tap on Personalize, and go to step 4 below.

3 Open step 4 below.

4 Click/tap on Start on the left side. Turn on (default) or off to Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar and in File Explorer Quick Access for what you want. (see screenshot below)

5 When finished, you can close Settings if you like.









OPTION TWO [/i] Turn On or Off "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for Current User using a REG file
The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD in the registry key below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Start_TrackDocs DWORD

0 = Turn off
1 = Turn on


1 Do step 2 or step 3 below for what you would like to do.


2. To Turn On Recent Items and Frequent Places
This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Turn_On_Recent_Items_and_Frequent_Places.reg

Download

3. To Turn Off Recent Items and Frequent Places
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Turn_Off_Recent_Items_and_Frequent_Places.reg

Download
4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 When finished, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.





OPTION THREE [/i] Enable or Disable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for Specific Users in Local Group Policy Editor
If disabled, this option will override and gray out Option One, and override Option Two.

The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in the Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

All editions can use Option Four below.


1 Open the all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how you want this policy applied.

2 In the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor, click/tap on to expand User Configuration, Administrative Templates, and Start Menu and Taskbar. (see screenshot below)



3 In the right pane of Start Menu and Taskbar, double click/tap on the Do not keep history of recently opened documents policy to edit it. (see screenshot above)

4 Do step 5 (enable) or step 6 (disable) below for what you would like to do.


5. To Enable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places"
A) Select (dot) either Not Configured or Disabled, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)

Not Configured is the default setting.


6. To Disable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places"
A) Select (dot) Enabled, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)




7 When finished, you can close the Local Group Policy Editor if you like.





OPTION FOUR [/i] Enable or Disable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for All Users using a REG file
If disabled, this option will override and gray out Option One, and override Option Two.

The downloadable .reg files below will add and modify the DWORD value in the registry keys below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

NoRecentDocsHistory DWORD

(delete) = Enable
1 = Disable


1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you would like to do.


2. To Enable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for All Users
This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Enable_Recent_Items_and_Frequent_Places_for_all_users.reg

Download

3. To Disable "Recent Items" and "Frequent Places" for All Users
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Disable_Recent_Items_and_Frequent_Places_for_all_users.reg

Download
4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Reset and Clear Recent Items and Frequent Places in Windows 10
• How to Clear File Explorer and Run Dialog Box History in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Frequent folders from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Recent files from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Hide a Specific File or Folder from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Most Used apps on Start Menu in Windows 10
• How to Create a Recent Folders Shortcut in Windows 10
• How to Create a Recent Items Shortcut in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Pin and Unpin Items on Jump Lists in Windows 10
• How to Change Maximum Number of Items in Jump Lists in Windows 10
• How to Rearrange Pinned Items On Jump Lists in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Showing Remote Locations in Jump Lists in Windows
• How to Turn On or Off Show Frequent Top Sites in Microsoft Edge in Windows 10

:)

 

How to find most recently viewed or accessed files or documents in windows 10

In File Explorer, click on Quick Access in the left pane. This should show recent folders. If you right click on Quick Access and select >Options, under Privacy are settings to show recent files.

And see
this article for your jump lists.

Turn On or Off Recent Items and Frequent Places in Windows 10

 

None of the programs and file explore do not have part Frequently used and recently part rest after 2 Minutes!!

Have you tried the suggestions on this link: Turn On or Off Recent Items and Frequent Places in Windows 10

 

Hello acomicbookguy, and welcome to Ten Forums. *Smile

Did you do anything like below to remove or disable Quick access for why it's not working properly for you?

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4...dows-10-a.html

 

I didn't do anything of that sort. The only that I've done recently that might be of interest to this matter is that,

• Windows 10 did its auto-update (for security thingy) - but I doubt this is the cause,
• I changed my User privillege from Normal to Admin., and finally,
• I kinda force uninstall AVG Free via Revo Uninstaller since it didn't work in my Windows 10.

Appreciate the reply Brink.

 

Did you move this to your D:\Berlitz?

If so, that could be why. I find that moving system folders or user profiles don't always work out so well.

 

Move what exactly? That Berlitz folder is just to show that I couldn't pin any folder I wanted to, to the Quick Access anymore. This can happened to any folder in my computer.

 

Brink, I tried creating new account and they don't have this malfunction Quick Access issues of mine. Do you have any idea how to solve this then?

I also tried SFC /scannow and it gives result that it was unable to fix some of the corrupt files.

 

acomicbookguy,

If you need to keep this account instead of using a new account instead, you could do a repair install that should sort it without losing anything. *Smile

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

 

I have had a frustrating time finding the answer to this one.

Run command prompt as administrator and run this command:

del %appdata%\microsoft\windows\recent\automaticdestinations\*

Enjoy *Smile

 

Hello dwknight, and welcome to Ten Forums. *Smile

If you like, the option in the tutorial below will do this automatically for you, and is more thorough.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3...set-clear.html

 

Thanks Brink. I wasn't actually referring to the topic of the article (how to clear the recent items and frequent places, but rather to the specific comment that I quoted, referring to the "api exited abnormally" error when trying to pin folders to Quick Access. I believe the script in your tutorial includes deleting the contents of that folder, and this fixes the issue, but the other options don't. Deleting the files in "%appdata%\microsoft\windows\recent\automaticdestinations" specifically fixes the reported issue.

 

*Smile Hello all... I am not understanding how MS elected removed the list of recent files and replaced it with opening a folder to see the recent files. That is now a 2 step process because you have to close the folder. I used the "recent items" a lot and I miss it - I'm sure others do ass well.
The solutions offered here only are partial, they only add the link to the start menu / jump lists, but those still open an actual folder which then has to be closed. If you open multiple files, then you have to close multiple folders. Odd...
I'm not a programmer - but I'm thinking (hoping!) that someone around here may be knowledgeable enough to find a way to return the actual "Recent Items" list, without opening a folder.
I'm thinking I may not be alone on this one...
Thank you!!

 

Hello sunnyorlando, and welcome to Ten Forums. *Smile

If you like, you could add the %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items folder as a toolbar on your taskbar for easy access and usage.

Taskbar Toolbars - Add or Remove in Windows 8

 

Sorry to ask such a dummy question.
I have installed new Windows 10 64-bit Enterprise. But, i'm not activated it yet.

My Question: Could i use the reg File to turn off Recent File..?(2nd step) Because in Unactivated Windows, it couldn't use 1st step...