By George Norman
Added on 12 Nov 2009(411 Views)



The Microsoft developed Windows 7 operating system (OS for short) remembers the programs and files the user accessed most recently. Some Windows 7 users do not like this default behavior, and that’s fine. Privacy is important, and if you share your Windows 7-powered PC with others, you definitely do not want them to see what files or programs you recently accessed. You can set it up so that the Start Menu in Windows 7 does not display the recently accessed files and programs by following the instructions presented here.

Other users may like the fact that Windows 7 remembers the programs and files they accessed most recently – and that’s fine too. What these users might like to know is that they can manage the number of recent programs and items the Start Menu displays. To do so, these users must follow the steps presented below:

Step 1. Right click the Taskbar and select Properties.
Alternatively you can click Start -> right click an empty space in the Start Menu -> click Properties.

Step 2. Click the Start Menu tab from the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window that appears.

Step 3. Now click the Customize button from the right hand side of the window.

Step 4. In the Customize Start Menu window, at the bottom, there’s the Start menu size section. This section is made up of two items;
Number of recent programs to display
Number of recent items to display in Jump Lists.

Next to each of these items there’s a number (by default this number is 10). Click the up arrow to increase that number; click the down arrow to decrease it.

Step 5. When you’re happy with your selection click OK and you’re done.

Tips and warnings
  • If you've messed about with the Start Menu’s settings and you don’t like what a mess you’ve made, you could always restore the default settings. In this regard you need to follow the instructions presented above; when you get to step 3, look at the bottom of the page. There’s a button there that says Use Default Settings -> click it.




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Tags: Microsoft, Windows 7, Start Menu, Recent programs

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