5 Methods to See Recently Opened Files on Windows 10

Windows 10 always track some important actions, including when you open a file, modified, or save it. There are several different ways to see them, with or without additional software.

Here are some options you could use. These may work on Windows 7 and Windows 8 as well.

#1 Check your newest files on the Recent Files section

On Windows 10, you can see the recently used files through File Explorer > Quick access > Recent files. This section will store twenty “newest” items ranging from media to document.

Unfortunately, Recent Files is limited by the number and extension. If you want to see slightly deeper information, check out the next method.

#2 For deeper information, see Recent Items

Recent Items is unique. Not only it will show you media and document, it will also store other activities including folder, programs, and even operating system functions (such as Bluetooth, Control Panel, etc). To access Recent Items, see the guide below.

1. Launch File Explorer, and go to %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\

2. Right-click on the blank area, then Sort by > Date Modified.

3. Now the Recent Items is sorted based on the date.

You may create a shortcut of Recent Items to access it faster.

#3 Third-party software OpenSaveFilesView is highly detailed!

A freeware named OpenSaveFilesView can display detailed information, like the name of the file, extension, order, open time, modified file, created time, file size, and file attributes. This software works by processing data from Windows Registry into something meaningful and easy to read.

OpenSaveFilesView is available from Windows 2000 to Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit. You can download it using this link.

#4 See recent items via Taskbar

You can also access recently opened files in specific applications, such as Notepad or Visual Studio Code, by right-clicking on the application icon in the taskbar.

This will show you a jump list, which displays recently opened files with the program/app. The taskbar jump list can help you find recently opened files provided you remember you used to open a file.  Most of the programs/apps support this feature, although not all.

#5 See recent folders via Quick Access

The Quick Access feature in Windows 10 allows you to view recently opened files. To access this feature, open File Explorer and click on “Quick Access” in the left-hand pane. Under “Quick Access,” you will see a list of recently opened files.

The most recently opened file shows at the top/beginning of the list. By default, the Recent files section of Quick Access shows the 20 recently opened files.

If you want to see more than the default number of recently opened files, you can change the settings by going to “File Explorer Options” and selecting the “View” tab. From there, you can adjust the number of recent items shown in Quick Access.

FAQs

How do I access recently opened files in Windows 10?

To access recently opened files in Windows 10, you can use the Quick Access feature in File Explorer. Open File Explorer and click on “Quick Access” in the left-hand pane. Under “Quick Access,” you will see a list of recently opened files.

You can also access recently opened files in specific applications by right-clicking on the application icon in the taskbar.

How do I view recently opened files for a specific app on the Start menu?

To view recently opened files for a specific app on the Start menu, press the Windows key + S to open the search menu. Type in the name of the app for which you want to view recent files.

You’ll see a list of recently opened items in the right pane. You can click on a file to open it. Alternatively, you can right-click on the file to remove or pin it.

How do I use third-party software to view recently opened files?

One third-party software option to view recently opened files is RecentFilesView. This tool lets you view items present in the Recent folder as well as files stored in the Registry.

For each recently opened file, you can see created time, modified time, file name and path, stored in the Registry or Recent folder, etc. You can select items and export all the information of selected items as a TXT, XML, CSV, or HTML file.