Remove 'Recent' from File Explorer for Home or revert Home to have Quick Access followed by Favorites followed by Recent

Question

There was a relatively recent update that changed the layout of my Home folder. In the past, Quick Access had its own section at the top (this has remained unchanged) and my Favorites would appear in a separate section below it. Now, the Favorites are part of a 3 part section, along with Recent and Shared. I don't want to see my Recent section before seeing my Favorites, that's why I have the files favorited. I don't share any documents, so I have no need for a shared section. I could not find a way to personalize the Home folder to revert the layout to its previous setting. I wouldn't have a problem with 'Recent' existing if I could set the default to 'Favorites,' but I have not seen a way to do that. I just want the layout to look like it did in the past (see below); the new way defeats the purpose of me favoriting files.

Answer 1

Dear Bob,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A.

I completely understand your frustration with the recent update to the Home folder layout in File Explorer. It’s annoying when a change disrupts a workflow you’ve come to rely on, especially when it makes accessing your favorited files less convenient.

Unfortunately, File Explorer doesn’t offer a built-in setting to fully customize the Home folder layout or revert it to the previous design. The "Recent" and "Shared" sections are now integrated into the updated Home view, and Microsoft hasn’t provided options to remove them or reorder the sections (e.g., putting "Favorites" before "Recent"). This lack of flexibility is likely a design choice to unify how files are presented, but it’s clearly not ideal for your needs.

While we can't restore the exact previous layout, you can customize Quick Access as your new favorites:

• Find files or folders you want to favorite and right-click, select Pin to Quick Access
• Drag and drop pinned items in Quick Access to arrange them in your preferred order
• If Quick Access has defaults items you don't need, right-click and select Unpin from Quick Access

If these workarounds don’t fully satisfy you, I recommend sharing your thoughts with Microsoft via Feedback Hub. They might add more customization options in a future update if enough users request it.

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Bryan Vu | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist