Personalization Hide or Show Recent Files on Start Menu in Windows 11


Start_banner.webp

This tutorial will show you how to add (show) or remove (hide) recent files on the Start menu for your account in Windows 11.

The Start menu in Windows 11 is comprised of three sections: Pinned, All apps, and Recommended.

The Recommended section on the Start menu shows a list of your recently added apps, recent files, and tips and app recommendations.

Starting with Windows 11 build 26300.8553 (Experimental 25H2) for Insiders, the "Recommended" section has been renamed to Recent in Start and Settings page. You can now disable showing recent files on the Start menu without affecting recent files in other places.

Reference:
www.elevenforum.com

Microsoft making Taskbar and Start more personal in Windows 11

Windows Blogs: In our commitment to Windows quality, we outlined our plans to deliver improvements in performance, reliability, and craft. We are also committed to being transparent about the work behind those efforts, including what we are shipping, why we prioritized those features, and where...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com



Contents

  • Option One: Hide or Show Recent Files on Start Menu in Settings
  • Option Two: Hide or Show Recent Files on Start Menu using REG file


EXAMPLE: Recent files in Recent section on Start menu

Recent_files_on_Start_menu.webp





Option One

Hide or Show Recent Files on Start Menu in Settings


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on Personalization on the left side, and click/tap on Start on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Start_Menu_recent_and_suggested_files-1.webp

3 Under Recent in Layout options, check (show - default) or uncheck (hide) Show recent and suggested files for what you want. (see screenshot below)

Start_Menu_recent_and_suggested_files-2.webp

4 You can now close Settings if you like.




Option Two

Hide or Show Recent Files on Start Menu using REG file


1 Do step 2 (show) or step 3 (hide) below for what you want.

2 Show Recent Files on Start Menu

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Turn_ON_Show_recent_and_suggested_files_on_Start.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Start]
"ShowSuggestedFiles"=dword:00000001

3 Hide Recent Files on Start Menu

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

Turn_OFF_Show_recent_and_suggested_files_on_Start.reg​


(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code: 
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Start]
"ShowSuggestedFiles"=dword:00000000

4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.

6 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

8 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

Last edited:
Click to expand...
Dear sir... how do you get those options? Is that some beta test thing? I wish I could have a small start menu without mods lol
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built PC
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G @ 3.9/4.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI B550M-PRO-WiFi Ver. 1.4
    Memory
    2 x 16 GB DDR4 Kingston Fury Beast 3200 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT MSI Mech 2X OC Edition 8 GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio (Integrated)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C50Rx 27" LED / HP S2031 20" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 px / 1600 x 900 px
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SN570 NVME M.2 SSD [1 TB] -- External Drives: - WD Scorpion Blue 250 GB 5400 RPM (Data Backup) - Hitachi 500 GB 5400 RPM (Software / ISOs Backup) - Toshiba MQ01ABD100 1 TB 5400 RPM (OS Images) - HGST TravelStar 7K1000 1 TB, 7200 RPM USB 3.0 - ADATA SU800 2TB SSD USB 3.0
    PSU
    Corsair RM750e 750W Fully Modular
    Case
    Naceb Hydra NA-1602
    Cooling
    Naceb Orpheus x 3 (Front) + Naceb Cepheus 1200 RPM Max (Rear) + ThemalRight Assasin X 90 SE (CPU)
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK470 Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech MK470 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    120 MB Symetrical
    Browser
    Firefox / Brave / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    - VMs: WMware Player - Windows 8.1 Pro x64 / Windows 11 Pro
    - Wacom Intuos Pro Small Tablet PTH-460
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 15-eh3000la (80M53LA)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7730U @ 2.0/4.5 Ghz
    Motherboard
    HP 8BC7
    Memory
    2 x 16 GB Kingston Fury Impact DDR4 3200 Mhz
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon (tm) Graphics Vega 8 (512 MB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio (Integrated)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 px (125% size)
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SN570 1TB NVME M.2 Drive
    PSU
    45 Watt Charger
    Cooling
    Laptop Cooling Pad
    Keyboard
    Free Wolf Foldable Portable Keyboard
    Mouse
    Free Wolf Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    120 MB Symetrical
    Browser
    Firefox / Brave / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    - 41mWh battery.
    - Wacom Intuos Pro Small Tablet PTH-460
DarkShadowMD said:
Dear sir... how do you get those options? Is that some beta test thing? I wish I could have a small start menu without mods lol
Click to expand...

Hello mate, :alien:

It's available starting with Windows 11 build 26300.8553 (Experimental 25H2) for Insiders. It will eventually make it out to public builds though.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Amazon Basics Wired Full Keyboard MD005
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Internet Speed
    2 Gbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Well... seems we have to wait a bit for this...~
Thanks!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built PC
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G @ 3.9/4.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI B550M-PRO-WiFi Ver. 1.4
    Memory
    2 x 16 GB DDR4 Kingston Fury Beast 3200 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT MSI Mech 2X OC Edition 8 GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio (Integrated)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C50Rx 27" LED / HP S2031 20" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 px / 1600 x 900 px
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SN570 NVME M.2 SSD [1 TB] -- External Drives: - WD Scorpion Blue 250 GB 5400 RPM (Data Backup) - Hitachi 500 GB 5400 RPM (Software / ISOs Backup) - Toshiba MQ01ABD100 1 TB 5400 RPM (OS Images) - HGST TravelStar 7K1000 1 TB, 7200 RPM USB 3.0 - ADATA SU800 2TB SSD USB 3.0
    PSU
    Corsair RM750e 750W Fully Modular
    Case
    Naceb Hydra NA-1602
    Cooling
    Naceb Orpheus x 3 (Front) + Naceb Cepheus 1200 RPM Max (Rear) + ThemalRight Assasin X 90 SE (CPU)
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK470 Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech MK470 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    120 MB Symetrical
    Browser
    Firefox / Brave / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    - VMs: WMware Player - Windows 8.1 Pro x64 / Windows 11 Pro
    - Wacom Intuos Pro Small Tablet PTH-460
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 15-eh3000la (80M53LA)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7730U @ 2.0/4.5 Ghz
    Motherboard
    HP 8BC7
    Memory
    2 x 16 GB Kingston Fury Impact DDR4 3200 Mhz
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon (tm) Graphics Vega 8 (512 MB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio (Integrated)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 px (125% size)
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SN570 1TB NVME M.2 Drive
    PSU
    45 Watt Charger
    Cooling
    Laptop Cooling Pad
    Keyboard
    Free Wolf Foldable Portable Keyboard
    Mouse
    Free Wolf Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    120 MB Symetrical
    Browser
    Firefox / Brave / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    - 41mWh battery.
    - Wacom Intuos Pro Small Tablet PTH-460
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