Stump the PC Club is a free tech-advice column written by members of the North Orange County Computer Club, which has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org.
QUESTION: I had a document listed on Microsoft Word’s recent list for some time and it disappeared. Is there a way to make it permanent? I refer to the file frequently but I guess not frequently enough.
PC CLUB: There is a way and it depends on the version of Word that you are using. There is also a way that is independent of the version and I’ll show you that way also. This feature is often referred to as the MRU or Most Recently Used list. Let’s review how various versions behave:
Office 2003 – you just click on the File menu and the list is on the bottom with the entries numbered 1 through 4. The default for Office 2003 is 4 entries but it can be changed by going to Tools, Options, General and changing the number up to a maximum of 9. You can’t clear this list directly but you can do so by returning to the Options and changing the number to 0. Then change it back to your desired number.
To make an entry permanent we will use a relatively unknown feature called the Work menu. Click Tools, Customize and select the Commands tab. Next, scroll down to Built-in Menus and select it. Look for the Work menu on the right and click and drag it onto your Word Menu Bar. Close any Options windows.
Now, with any document(s) open click the new Work menu and you’ll be able to select any open document and make the entry there permanent. For removing entries from the Work menu see the instructions at http://bit.ly/workmenu. By the way, removing the Work menu and then replacing it does not remove the entries.
Office 2007 – Click the Office button and your Recent entries will be listed on the right of the window that opens. You can click the pushpin on the right of any entry to make an entry permanent. Click the pushpin again to make it temporary. To change the number of entries, click the Office button and then Word Options. Select the Advanced options and scroll down to Display and change the number there. You have to change the number to 0 to clear the list. Be careful since all Permanent links will be deleted also.
Office 2010 – Click the File button and then select Recent to see your recently opened files. You can make any of them permanent by clicking the pushpin on the right. To change the number of recent documents displayed, click the File button and select Options. Select the Advanced button and scroll down to the Display settings to change the number. With Office 2010 you can remove an entry by right clicking it. Nice improvement.
Windows 7 – This makes it even easier. Start by locating a shortcut to Word on your Start menu or Desktop. Right click it and select Pin to Taskbar. With this shortcut on the Taskbar, right clicking it will show a list of recent documents. When you hover over one of them you will see a pushpin that you can click to make it permanent. You can also right click any of them to unpin it from the list.
General – When all else fails, locate any Word document in My Documents or in any other folder and right click it. Select Send to and then Desktop (create shortcut). This will place a shortcut to your document on the Desktop which you can safely delete when you are through with it. I frequently work on several documents at t time and place shortcuts to them on the Desktop. I then create a new folder on the Desktop and drag the shortcuts into it to tidy up the Desktop.
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or bad thing that there’s no end to the various ways that shortcuts can be employed to simplify your life. Choose what works best for you.
Be sure to go to my Web site and click the Contac Me menu to send me a comment or question you’d like answered. You’ll also find the archives of my articles there as well - Ed Schwartz, NOCCC member. View my Web site at www.edwardns.com.