Share via

How to get Windows 11 to include Recent Folders in apps' Open and Save As menus

John Desmond 30 Reputation points
2025-09-13T14:22:47.16+00:00

In Windows 11 I have been able to get Recent Items and Recent Folders in the Home Quick Access area of File Explorer, but I would also like Recent Folders to be available in apps like Word when I use Open->Browse or Save As functions. How can I do this?

In Windows 10 I was able to this after applying Registry changes. I'm willing to make such registry changes again for Windows 11 if instructions are available. It's worth it to have Recent Folders available in apps, as having it really reduces the amount of tedious folder navigation during the course of a day's work.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows
0 comments No comments

Answer accepted by question author
  1. Paulo GM 63,460 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-09-13T15:25:45.84+00:00

    Hi John,

    You’ll indeed need to tweak the Registry to make it show up in the Common dialog. I used the instructions from this page to make it visible and just downloaded the .reg files available. But if you’d rather do it manually, I can guide you through the steps.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

0 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.