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

Anonymous
2015-09-28T09:13:42+00:00

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

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Suzanne S Barnhill 279.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2015-09-28T13:49:12+00:00

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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Jay Freedman 208.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2017-06-13T19:32:24+00:00

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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  1. Anonymous
    2016-06-27T19:42:52+00:00

    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 QAT 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.

    Not true.

    Word Ctrl-O default to One Drive.... it does NOT default to the location specified in Save location. 

    And why the h**k have MS removed pinned folders, frequently used folders, or similar. Is the assumption that we always open files from one folder? Have they not heard of a "filing system"?

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-06-27T21:54:10+00:00

    And why the h**k have MS removed pinned folders, frequently used folders, or similar. Is the assumption that we always open files from one folder? Have they not heard of a "filing system"?

    It does for me ...

    Sorry, there is a second option in the same place I forgot to mention (green highlights):

    I also set a custom location for saving files, different than "my Documents" (yellow highlight).

    Why this change in 2016?  Beats me, I hate it too!

    If they, "MS", ever would provide an "official" reply they would say that they think this is an "improvement".  And they will say that they have "statistics" to prove it. They say they have "user Interface focus groups" that agree this is better.  Personally, I would like to meet some of the "little green men" (aka "aliens") they hire to make these design decisions and for these studies.

    feedback from WinXP, Vista, and Win7 gave us Win8 …

    and we all know how well that “better Windows experience” worked out.

    Office is designed for the lowest common denominator (hence the ribbon ... ). 

    Using a location other than the default "My Documents" folder is considered "Advanced". 

    Using more than one location to store files is considered wildly advanced ... <sigh>.

    Personally, of the currently supported versions I prefer Office 2010 ...

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-05T10:16:30+00:00

    Yep, annoying isn't it?!

    Here's how I've 'fixed' it, you need to hit the browse or double-click on 'This PC' to take you to the navigation window, then you should have a list of favourites in the left navigation pane. Add your folders to that and you've got a quickish link to them (though not as good as it was).

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