Tiplet: Add “Recent Items” to File Explorer in Windows 10

Several people attending my Windows 10 / Office 2016 upgrade classes at the U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles over the past few weeks have asked if there is a way to add the “Recent Items” icon to the Quick access list in the Windows 10 File Explorer.  One reason people like that icon / folder is that by default, the Quick access list – the one at the right side of the File Explorer – displays only 14 recent folders and only 20 recent files, which is convenient but not as comprehensive as the “Recent Items” icon / folder that Windows 7 users sometimes rely on.

It’s actually a fairly simple process to add “Recent Items” to the Quick Access list.  You just have to drill down through several folders and subfolders – assuming you have the appropriate permissions to do so (which shouldn’t be a problem on your own computer, but could be an issue on a computer provided by your employer).

To find the “Recent Items” icon in Windows 10, open the File Explorer (or This PC) and follow this path:

C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows

Of course, substitute your own user name for “<UserName>.”  (Your user name will not have the brackets around it.)

When you locate the “Recent Items” icon, right-click it, and when the menu appears, click “Pin to Quick access.”  That will add the folder to the Quick access list in the File Explorer.  When you left-click the icon, you will see many of your recently opened files and folders.  (Currently I’m seeing 149 items in my “Recent Items” folder.)

If you decide you don’t need it, you can right-click the icon and choose “Unpin from Quick access.”  But I imagine many users will like the enhanced functionality it provides.