'Recent' folder and 'My Recent Documents' folder

[Peter Davis]

(1) Why is the 'My Recent Documents' folder actually called 'Recent'
when I browse to it 'C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Recent'.

(2) Why does this folder not contain the same list of documents as I
get to see if I go to Start > My Recent Documents?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi Peter

For question 1:
Is there a Desktop.ini file in the Recent folder? If not, try clearing the
Recent Docs history once, the Desktop.ini file will be re-created. The file
contains these lines:

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

 

[Peter Davis]

(1) Why is the 'My Recent Documents' folder actually called
'Recent' when I browse to it 'C:\Documents and
Settings\USER\Recent'.

For question 1:
Is there a Desktop.ini file in the Recent folder? If not, try
clearing the Recent Docs history once, the Desktop.ini file will
be re-created. The file contains these lines:

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

I checked and I alread have a desktop.ini with the contents you have
listed.

Is there a reason why the name of this folder changes from 'My Recent
Documents' to 'Recent'?

For 2:
The Recent Documents list in the start menu shows only the last
15 items (by default).

OK, I see that, thank you. Why does the Recent Documents folder also
contain shortcuts to actual FOLDERS? None of these shortcuts to
folders are listed in Start > My Recent Documents.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi Peter,

Click Start/Run and type CMD
Type these lines, and press Enter after each line:

CD %userprofile%
Attrib +s +h recent
Exit

Now, open the Recent folder. It should read "My Recent Documents" in
Explorer view.

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org

(1) Why is the 'My Recent Documents' folder actually called
'Recent' when I browse to it 'C:\Documents and
Settings\USER\Recent'.

For question 1:
Is there a Desktop.ini file in the Recent folder? If not, try
clearing the Recent Docs history once, the Desktop.ini file will
be re-created. The file contains these lines:

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

I checked and I alread have a desktop.ini with the contents you have
listed.

Is there a reason why the name of this folder changes from 'My Recent
Documents' to 'Recent'?

For 2:
The Recent Documents list in the start menu shows only the last
15 items (by default).

OK, I see that, thank you. Why does the Recent Documents folder also
contain shortcuts to actual FOLDERS? None of these shortcuts to
folders are listed in Start > My Recent Documents.