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If you have ever right clicked on a program icon or shortcut in the Windows taskbar, you might have noticed that you will see a listing of your recently opened files or folders. This is what is referred to as a jump list and is an easy way to see the history of opened files related to that specific app. When you open the Windows File Explorer app, you will most likely see a listing of recently opened files and folders as well.
So, if you are the type who prefers to keep their history hidden, you can disable the jump list entries and File Explorer recent file history as needed. In this article, we will be showing you how to enable or disable recent file and folder jump lists in Windows as well as the File Explorer recent files feature. Knowing how to show or hide your file history in Windows is part of becoming proficient with Windows file and folder management.
The image below shows the jump when you right click on the taskbar icon for Microsoft Word. You can also view these recently opened files when right clicking on the Word icon from the Apps section after clicking on the Start button. You can also see recent files for other apps by right clicking their icons.
File Explorer also has a recent file and folder list that you can use to open recently worked on files.
You will also see recent file history when clicking on the Start button under the Recommended section.
Having these jump lists and recent files enabled may be fine for some people but if you are the type who prefers to keep your file history hidden, you can easily disable these options as needed.
Now that you are aware of all the places where you can see recent file history, let’s discuss how to disable the recent file history, recommended and folder jump lists in Windows 11.
There are a couple of ways to go about disabling the history for jump lists, File Explorer and the Start menu. If you want to disable recent file and folder jump lists as well as the recent and recommended sections in File Explorer and the Start menu all at once, you can go to the Windows settings and then to Personalization and Start. From here you can disable the setting for Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists and File Explorer. There are also some additional settings you can disable such as showing recently added apps and show most used apps.
Once you disable this setting, you can then go back to your taskbar and Start menu icons and when you right click on them, you will see that your recent file history is no longer there.
Then when you open File Explorer, you will also see that there is no longer a Recent section.
Now if you want to keep your jump lists intact yet remove the recent items from File Explorer, you can go to the Folder Options settings in File Explorer and then on the General tab, uncheck the box for Show recently used files. You can also uncheck the boxes for Show frequently used folders and Show files from Office.com if you do not want any recent items to be shown.
Once you uncheck the boxes under the Privacy section, you can then click on the Clear button to remove any remaining file history that you might see in File Explorer.
As you can see, there are several ways to enable or disable recent file and folder jump lists and history in Windows so it’s up to you to decide which items you want to have shown or be hidden.
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