How to Delete Microsoft Office Recent Documents

In each of the Microsoft Office programs WORD, VISIO, POWERPOINT and EXCEL, you are get to see  recently used documents - providing quick access to your files. Each of the programs lets you customise this list of recent documents to suit your preferences; for instance, you can pin certain documents to the list, so they will always show up.

By clearing the list, the feature is turned off and you will no longer see any recent documents. To turn the feature back on, you just have to tell Word the number of documents you want to include in the list and reopen your documents.

• Open Microsoft Word.
• Click the "File" - Select "Options" (this may vary across versions though I'm using 2010)
• Click the "Advanced" tab - Scroll down to the "Display" section.
• Click "0" in the "Show This Number of Recent Documents" list" to clear the list.
• Click "OK." To turn the feature back on, go back to this menu and select a different number.
• The list will update when you open your files.

Note.

If you are planning to give the PC away, give it back to your employer if / when you're planning to leave or, are simply disposing of it - setting the 'Show This Number ...' to ZERO won't necessarily clear the list 'forever'. In Word 2010, there is a feature you can use to quickly clear all the unpinned items in the Recent Documents list. Click the "File" tab, then click "Recent" Right-click one of the files in the list. Click "Clear Unpinned Items." Click "Yes."

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