Word 2016 and Excel 2016 - Customize the File > Open menu

Anonymous

Hello,

How can I customize the File > Open menu in Word 2016 and Excel 2016, please?

Add a Place works only for the cloud.

As for This PC, it shows me a list of folders I am not interested in, and that apparently I cannot remove.

On the contrary, I'd like to add different folders, which are not even in the C drive but on a D drive.

The only customization I found is in Options > Advanced > File Locations, in there I changed the location for Documents to my D drive, but it does not affect the File > Open menu at all.

And in Excel 2016, this command is not even there under Options.

Thanks and regards,

Marco

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Answer accepted by question author

Suzanne S Barnhill 279.2K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You can bypass this entirely by checking the box for "Don't show the Backstage when opening or saving files" at File | Options | Save. You can then use Ctrl+O or an Open button on the Quick Access Toolbar to go directly to the classic Open dialog, which is an Explorer window in which you can add Favorites to the Navigation pane. When you start Word, the Open dialog will default to the folder you have specified as the default location for your documents; if you open a file from a subfolder, it will become the default for the next open operation.

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Answer accepted by question author

Jay Freedman 208.2K Volunteer Moderator

When you "add Favorites to the Navigation pane" (renamed as Quick Access in Windows 10) and pin them there, they show up in the Open and Save dialogs of Office programs. That is equivalent to pinning them on the File > Open page of the Backstage, the thing that has been (unfortunately) removed. That's one of the reasons to avoid the Backstage as Suzanne suggested.

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84 additional answers

Anonymous

2015-09-28T14:20:29+00:00

Thank you Suzanne!

Che Ctrl+O or an Open button on the QAT did the trick, since this was exactly what I wanted :-)

I also checked the box for "Don't show the Backstage when opening or saving files" at File | Options | Save, but I could not detect any visible change after doing that.

However, I will now use your tips to open files instead of going trough the crowded (and unnecessary for me) File > Open view.

Thanks again for your help!

Marco
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Anonymous

2015-09-28T10:13:32+00:00

Thank you Rohn007.

However, I don't have 'Computer'. I have 'This PC' instead (maybe you meant that).

In any case, I did what you said as soon as I installed Office 2016, but nothing changes in the list of folders.

On top of that, if I clic on one of the folders I only have Open and Copy path to clipboard, no possibility to Remove from list.
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Anonymous

2015-09-28T09:52:08+00:00

Apparently "Add a Place" is now specific for the Cloud. That makes sense since MS is pushing the cloud so hard.

You want to take an alternate approach. In the Open pane, click on Computer. If the folder or drive you want is not in the list already, click on the Browse button. Then you can navigate to the folder you want to add to the list. Open any file in that folder then close the file (no changes need to be made/saved).

Now when you go back, the folder has been added to the list. If you click on one of the folders in the list it will take you directly there. If you right click on one of the folders you get some options: Open, Pin, Copy Path ..., Remove from list.

Is this what you are looking for?
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