How to clear or delete my recent documents in Windows
Posted on January 10, 2008 at 8:10 am
Looking for a way to delete the recent documents list in Windows? Don’t you hate it sometimes how many things Windows tracks, like all of the most recent documents you have opened in ANY program. If you want to disable recent documents and remove/clear your most recent documents, it’s actually a pretty simple process!
I’m going to explain the method for clearing the my recent documents list in Windows XP, but the same holds true for Windows Vista. So here’s a step by step guide to deleting your my recent documents list:
First, right-click on the Start Button and choose Properties:
You’ll now be in the Start Menu and Taskbar properties dialog box. You should already be on the Start Menu tab. Go ahead and click on the Customize button.
You should now be viewing the Customize Start Menu dialog box. Go ahead and click on the Advanced tab.
At the bottom, you’ll see a section called Recent Documents. Click Clear List to clear the most recent list of documents. If you do not want Windows to record your recent documents at all, uncheck the List my most recently opened documents box. That’s it!
Now the option on the Start Menu for most recent documents will be removed and nothing will be recorded! Have any questions, post a comment! Enjoy!
[tags]my recent documents, clear recent documents, clear my recent documents, delete recent documents, disable recent documents, remove recent documents, how to clear recent documents, delete my recent documents[/tags]
» Filed Under Computer Tips
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I think the better solution is to run utility like CCleaner once a week or so. This will take care of your recent documents, and the recent files captured by other programs like Word, Excel etc.
Vaibhav, I agree! If you have CCleaner, it clears out your recent documents and browser history also. Thanks.
Its easy way to clear documents. Excellent
this is the most best site I have visited. good job.
You must modify the Windows XP Registry to stop XP from keeping track of your recent documents. The start menu options above dont stop the shortcuts from being stored under your profile folder.
Registry Key is
HCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Add DWORD value named NoRecentDocsHistory with Data Value of 1 to above, save, and reboot.
MS Tweak UI has a Recent Documents function, as well. Available from Microsoft.
Hi,
Can someone tell me how to automatically clear the “my recent documents” after each Windows session.
I find manually clearing it at end of each session too tedious and i am a forgetful guy.:(
I am not a technie , so a simple step by step guide or screen shots would be greatly appreciated.
THANK YOU!!
21 Nov
The problem with the built-in option where you uncheck the check box is that this does not work with the classic start menu. I’ve even tried changing the start menu format and then unchecking the option, but as soon as I go back to the classic start menu, it starts tracking recent documents again.
Thanks for providing useful suggestions .
The suggestion was really helpful! I needed to clear my recent documents! Thanks a lot.