"Recent" and "My Recent Documents"

[Sal]

When I access "My Recent Documents" in Windows Explorer the address bar
shows the path to be: C:\Documents and Settings\<my name>\Recent. Yet
in folders view I can't find the file, instead it's named "My Recent
Documents" with a special icon next to it. What is the relationship
between the two and why can't I see the folder named "Recent" in
folders view? Thanks.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Sal,

The "Recent" documents is shown as "My Recent Documents" in Explorer, with a
special folder icon. Both the icon, and the LocalizedResourceName are set in
the Desktop.ini present in the 'Recent' folder.

[.ShellClassInfo]
[email protected],-12692
IconFile=%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll
IconIndex=-21
[email protected],-12691

 

[Sal]

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming that the "Recent" folder and its
contents reside on my unpartitioned C: drive. Yet if I do a search for
the folder, or a file it contains, starting at C:\, I find nothing. Why
can't I do a search?

 

[Keith Miller]

Explorer view options need to be set to show hidden files and folders.

The actual folder name is "Recent" the display name is "My Recent Documents." If you have the "...full path" view options enabled in explorer, you will see the actual folder name in the address bar/title bar of the explorer window.

If you're searching, advanced search options must be set to search hidden files and folders.

Keith