Faulty 'Recent' document list in OneDrive, File Explorer and Microsoft 365

Anonymous
2023-12-04T11:38:15+00:00

I understand there is a bug that engineers are working on and that this 'bug' is a big worry for many of us, ie. I'm seeing a 'Recent' list (shows in my File Explorer and on OneDrive) which includes documents that I did not open recently, and gives wrong dates of when opened. My Microsoft 365 Word files are synced to OneDrive. I use Windows 11.

I came across an additional worry concerning this today. I opened my Microsoft 365 Word and found the faulty 'Recent' list there, too. I clicked on the latest item on the list (which I had, in fact, opened yesterday via Explorer), and I got a message warning me that the file was a potential security risk. This is the main file of a novel I am working on and am doing editing each day. I find I can still open the document via File Explorer with no such warning and the document did seem ok when I opened it this way, but is it safe to do so? I have a deadline to finish my editing and need assurance there is no security problem and that this 'Recent' list problem will soon be rectified.

I have only noticed the wrong 'Recent' list in the past week or two, but there are other threads about this, one I have seen goes back to October with people telling of this same issue. In a later thread (in November) we were told it's a known bug that is currently being investigated. Please can I have an update on when it is likely to be fixed. Meanwhile, are our files safe to continue accessing and working on?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-03-21T08:20:35+00:00

    I have the same problem. It began yesterday, 03/20/2024.

    Previously, for over a year, when I opened Word it would show a list of recently opened files.

    Starting yesterday, only two files showed up, and they were older files.

    I can still open my docx files when I select them from File Manager, but no matter what I do they are not saved in the recently opened file list, so I can't ever open them from inside Word. I tried the suggestions about changing the number in Advanced Options, but that does nothing.

    If this is a known problem, the engineers should at least tell people that, and stop presenting a "fix" that does not fix anything. It is only an inconvenience for me, because all the files I normally work on are in a few directories that I have memorized, but I can see that it is a serious problem for others.

    Clearly this bug is in a very specific area of code dealing with the updating of the recently opened files. It shouldn't be so hard to fix, unless the developers are using the same code all over MS Office and are afraid to change anything. That is the design problem with making everything interdependence. You paint yourself into a corner when it comes to maintenance.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-03-21T08:14:51+00:00

    March 21, 2024: It has been more than 3 months since this problem was first discovered and it is affecting many of us. What is Microsoft doing about this?

    I have my proper recent document list just a minute ago. The next minute when I re-opened my Word, Excel, or PowerPoint and I lost my correct recent document list in all these Microsoft 365 apps. What I have is a very outdated recent document list from OneDrive, which I rarely used.

    Is someone from Microsoft really working on this?

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-03-21T01:18:37+00:00

    March 20, 2024 and while travelling I have the same issue. This is a major productivity issue and needs addressed!!!!

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-03-19T10:24:31+00:00

    It's very disappointing and concerning that this problem has been going on for ages for many of us and Microsoft doesn't seem the slightest bit interested in trying to resolve it. My list of 'Recent' files shows a long list of just about all my Word files instead of only showing the ones I really have opened recently.

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-03-19T01:23:03+00:00

    Is there any fix to this yet?

    I have had the same problem for several months. Until recently I was logged into both a business OneDrive account and my personal OneDrive. The recent files and "recommended" lists included files from the business OneDrive which I had never opened belonging to someone else in the organisation. This seems a potential breach of internal security or privacy. I am no longer with that organisation and have disconnected from its OneDrive (which no longer is in use) but have some of its files still showing as recent as well as a seemingly random set of files from my own OwnDrive.

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