Increase the Number of Recent Files in Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint display a list of recently opened files to make it easy to access documents you’ve worked on recently.

By default, these apps show 25 recent files but you can customize this number to suit your needs. Here’s how.

Why Customize Recent Files?

There are a few reasons you may want to customize the number of recent files shown:

  • Reduce clutter if you don’t need quick access to many documents
  • Increase the list size if you work with hundreds of files and want quick access
  • Completely hide recent files for privacy or security reasons

Change Recent Files in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

The steps to customize recent files are the same in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint:

  1. Open the app
  2. Click the File tab
  3. Select Options
  4. Click Advanced in the left pane
  5. In the Display section, change the number next to Show this number of Recent Documents

For example, to show 50 recent documents, change the number to 50. Or set it to 0 to hide recent files completely.

image showing recent documents option set to 50 in word options

  1. Click OK to save the changes

The next time you open the app, you’ll see your customized number of recent files.

Tip: To quickly access a smaller number of pinned recent files, check the Quickly access this number of Recent Documents option in Advanced settings.

Clear Recent Documents List

If you want to remove all recent documents and start fresh:

  1. Click the File tab
  2. Select Open
  3. Right-click any file in the recent files list
  4. Click Clear Unpinned Documents
  5. Confirm clearing the list by clicking Yes

Pin Important Documents

See a file you want quick access to anytime? Pin it!

  1. Hover over the file in the recent files list
  2. Click the pushpin icon next to the file name

Pinned files will remain permanently in the recent files list for quick access. Unpin them anytime by clicking the icon again.

Customize Recent Folders

Along with recent documents, Office apps show recently used folders. Customize how many display:

  1. Go to File > Options > Advanced
  2. Change the number next to Show this number of unpinned Recent Folders

Why Customize Recent Files in Office?

Customizing recent documents and folders helps optimize your Office apps for your unique workflow.

For example:

  • Reduce clutter by only showing files you’re currently working on
  • Increase productivity by pinning commonly used files for fast access
  • Free up system resources by limiting the recent files cache size
  • Enhance privacy by hiding your recent work when sharing your screen

Take a few minutes to tweak these settings to suit your needs. You’ll save time every day opening documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps.