Many Microsoft Office programs display the last few files you opened in that program. You can use the links on this list to quickly access files. This feature is turned on by default, but you can turn it off, turn it back on, or adjust the number of files that it displays.

If you close a file and then move it to another location, such as by using Windows Explorer, the link to that file in the program in which you created it no longer works. You must use the Open dialog box to browse to the file to open it.

If this feature was turned off and you subsequently turn it back on, only files that you open and save after you turn it on are listed.

Do the following in these Microsoft Office system programs:

Access, Excel, PowerPoint, or Word

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button button image, and then click Program Name Options, where Program Name is the name of the program you are in, for example, Word Options.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Under Display, in the Show this number of Recent Documents list, click the number of files that you want to display. If you do not want to display any files, click 0.

Tip To keep a file in the Recent Documents list, click the Microsoft Office Button button image, and then click Pin this document to the Recent Documents list button image. When a document is pinned to the Recent Documents list, the pin button looks like a push pin viewed from the top: button image.

InfoPath

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
  2. Select or clear the Recently used file list check box.
  3. If you want to show your recently used files, in the Entries list, click the number of files that you want to display. If you do not want to display any files and the Recently used file list check box is selected, click 0.

Visio

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
  2. In the Recently used file list, click the number of files that you want to display. If you do not want to display any files, click 0.