Where in Windows 7 can I find the recent items menu?

Anonymous
2009-09-04T15:19:56+00:00

Where in Windows 7 can I find the recent items menu that was on the main menu in Vista.

*original title - How do I enable recent items?*

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2009-09-04T17:10:45+00:00

Right click the 'Taskbar', click 'Properties' > select the 'Start Menu' tab > click 'Customize' > in the dialog displayed, check off the appropriate menu link, 'Recent Items'

Andre Da Costa http://adacosta.spaces.live.com http://www.activewin.com

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Anonymous
2010-11-06T02:41:12+00:00

I am having problems with Microsoft WORD not populating the Recent files used from it's icon on the Task Bar.  But... my excel works fine.  I have Windows 7 and Microsoft Office Professional 2007. 

I've right-clicked the Start Menu: Properties: Customize: and Selected that recent files should appear. 

Plus, I have even dragged certain documents to the task bar icon that I want pinned in Word and they will not show up. 

Hi Catjone

The behavior that you are describing can happen if the Virtual file that holds the data for a pinned programs Jump List becomes corrupted.

  1. Copy the following path.

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

Open Windows Explorer, click in the Address Bar and press the backspace key to clear the address bar.

Right click in the address bar and select Paste. Press the Enter Key. This will open the Automatic Destinations folder.

Note:  This folder is Super Hidden and this is the only way that you can access that folder.

  1. Locate the following file in that folder:  adecfb853d77462a.automaticDestinations-ms 

Right click that file and select Delete.

Exit all running programs and restart the computer.

  1. Use the Word 2007 taskbar icon to open a few random files. Exit Word.
  2. Right click the Word taskbar icon and test the Jump List.

Let us know the results.

Ronnie Vernon MVP – Windows Desktop Experience

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-10-26T23:25:50+00:00

    Ronnie,

    Perfecto!  I had to play around a bit with un-hiding hidden files, but it worked beautifully.

    Thanks for your help.

    A couple of minor q's:

    1. is it okay to destroy the old adecfb853d77462a.automaticDestinations-ms corrupt file?
    2. what about the other 12 or so files that were in the Automatic Destinations folder?  do I need these, or is it okay to delete them?

    Thanks, again.

    Hi

    Yes, you can delete the old file.

    Now that you have the Jump Lists working, I recommend that you keep a back up of those files.

    The way I do this is to go to the My Documents folder and create a new folder called Jump List Backup.

    I then create 2 sub-folders named AutomaticDestinations and CustomDestinations.

    You can simply copy all of the files in the

    %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

    and

    %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations

    folders and paste them into the associated Jump List Backup folder.

    I usually back these files up once a week or after I make a lot of changes to the pinned programs.

    If you ever lose a Jump List again, you can simply replace the associated -ms file with the back up copy.

    The other 12 files could deleted, as long as they are not associated with any pinned programs on the Taskbar.

    Regards

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-10-26T18:06:34+00:00

    Ronnie,

    On a somewhat related note, I just discovered that my ability to drag icons to reshuffle them in aero peek has now been lost.  This applies to both Word and Open Folders in the task bar.

    Is this somehow related to the jump list problem?  I'm guessing not, but I can't find a thread that addresses this particular problem.   If it's posted, could you direct me to it?

    Thanks.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-10-26T17:47:09+00:00

    Ronnie,

    Perfecto!  I had to play around a bit with un-hiding hidden files, but it worked beautifully.

    Thanks for your help.

    A couple of minor q's:

    1. is it okay to destroy the old adecfb853d77462a.automaticDestinations-ms corrupt file?
    2. what about the other 12 or so files that were in the Automatic Destinations folder?  do I need these, or is it okay to delete them?

    Thanks, again.

    Was this answer helpful?

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