Fix: Recent Files Not Showing In File Explorer Home In Windows 11

With default settings, Windows 11 File Explorer opens to the ‘Home’ folder (previously known as Quick Access).

The File Explorer Home shows most frequently used folders, recently accessed files (by default), your favorite files (pinned files), as well as shared files.

If the File Explorer Home does not show recent files, it could be because of multiple reasons.

The following are some of the common issues that prevent the File Explorer Home from showing recent files.

Ensure that the ‘Recent’ tab is selected in File Explorer Home

The File Explorer Home displays the Recent, Favorites, and Shared tabs. The Favorites tab displays pinned files (right-click on a file and then click “Add to favorites”), and the Shared tab shows files shared with you.

So, make sure that the ‘Recent’ tab is selected to view all recent files.

Check if the Recent files feature is turned on or off

Step 1: In the File Explorer, click the three dots in the toolbar, and then click Options to open Folder Options.

Step 2: Here, under the General tab, in the Privacy section, check the status of the ‘Show recently used files’ option. If turned off, please turn it on and then click the Apply button.

Open a couple of files now. They should appear in the Recent list. Needless to say, the files you accessed before enabling the feature will not appear in the list.

Refresh the Recent files list in File Explorer Home

Step 1: Right-click on an empty spot, click the ‘Show more options’ option to open the classic context menu.

Step 2: Click the ‘Refresh’ option to refresh the recent files list immediately.

You may also use the F5 key (try Fn + F5 if pressing the F5 key alone does not refresh the list).

Ensure that the ‘All File Types’ filter is selected in File Explorer Home

This is one of the most common reasons for the File Explorer Home not showing recent files. What happens is that when you have selected the ‘PDF’ filter, for instance, it shows only recent PDF files. And when there are no recent PDF files, the File Explorer Home ‘Your recent activity will show here. You’ll get quick access to your recently used files here’ message instead.

Step 1: In the File Explorer Home, click the filter icon in the toolbar (refer to the picture below) and then select the All File Types filter to see all types of files in the recent files list.