How to Show or Hide Recently Opened Items in Windows 11

Managing Recent Items via Settings

The Settings app ⚙️ provides direct control over recently opened items in Windows 11. Choosing whether to display a list of recently accessed files helps keep the Start menu ⊞ and File Explorer 📁 organized.

Windows Settings ⚙️ controls the recently opened items feature. Managing this setting allows users to show or hide recent files and folders appearing in File Explorer 📁 and the Start menu ⊞. Workspaces stay tidy and focused on current tasks as a result.

1. Open the Settings app by pressing Win+I or by searching for it in the Start menu.

2. In the Settings app, click Personalization on the left side.

3. On the right side, click on the Start tile.

4. Locate the switch labeled Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer. Toggle this switch to On to enable it or Off to hide recent items.

Troubleshooting: Why are my recent files not showing up in 🪟 Windows 11?

Missing items usually point to disabled tracking or corrupted cache files. Check that the option to show recent files is turned on in your privacy settings.

Recent files might fail to appear if privacy settings are off or if cache files have become corrupted. Ensure the "Show recently opened items" toggle in Settings > Personalization > Start is set to On. Clearing Activity History resets how Windows tracks activity when the toggle remains active. Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Activity history and click Clear.

Advanced Control: Registry Editor and PowerShell

Administrator privileges are required to use these methods for showing or hiding recently opened items in Windows 11. Editing the Windows registry (the central database storing low-level system settings) requires care, as mistakes can cause unexpected system issues.

Using Registry Editor

Using Registry Editor

The Registry Editor provides a way to control recently opened items in Windows 11. This advanced method allows for manual hiding or showing of recent documents through specific registry value changes, offering more granular control.

To force this setting:

1. Press Windows key + R, then type regedit and press Enter.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
3. If the NoRecentDocsHistory key doesn't exist, right-click on Explorer, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it NoRecentDocsHistory.
4. Set its value to 1 to hide recent items, or 0 to show them.

Using PowerShell

Using PowerShell

Open PowerShell as an administrator. Run this command to disable recent items: Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\Explorer' -Name 'NoRecentDocsHistory' -Value 1. This achieves the same result as the registry edit via the command line.

Managing Recent Items via Group Policy

Windows 11 Pro users with admin rights can manage recent items using Group Policy. This tool controls whether computers keep a history of recently opened documents for all user accounts from a central location.

1. Open the Start menu, search for Edit group policy, and select it.

2. In the Local Group Policy Editor, go to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar.

3. Find Do not keep a history of recently opened documents and double-click it. Select 'Enabled' to hide history, 'Disabled' to show it, or 'Not Configured' to stick with Windows default settings.

Summary

Windows 11 tracks activity to help users work faster by showing recent files in places like Jump Lists and the Recommended section. Turning this feature on or off happens through Settings, Registry Editor, or Group Policy.