Fix 1: Check File Explorer Options
If Quick Access is not showing your recently opened files and frequently used folders, check File Explorer’s Options to ensure the feature is enabled. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type file explorer options in the box, and press Enter.
Step 2: Under the General tab, check the boxes for Show recently used files and Show frequently used folders.
Step 3: Switch to the View tab > uncheck Show all folders option > hit Apply > OK.
Open a few files and check if they appear under the Recent section of Quick Access.
Fix 2: Enable Recent Items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer
Another reason Quick Access may not show your recent files is if you’ve disabled the ‘Show recently opened items in Start, Jump List, and File Explorer’ option in the Settings app. Here’s how to enable it.
Step 1: Press the Windows + I keys to open the Settings app > head to Personalization > Start.
Step 2: Turn on the toggle for Show recently opened items in Start, Jump List, and File Explorer.
Fix 3: Clear Quick Access Cache Data
If Quick Access takes forever to load or fails to open at all, the problem could be with the existing Quick Access cache data. So, getting rid of that data might get things moving again. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Press the Windows + E keys to open File Explorer. Paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter.
%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
Step 2: Press Ctrl + A to select all the files and click the trash icon at the top to delete them.
Step 3: Navigate to the following folder:
%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations
Step 4: Delete all the files within the folder.
Fix 4: Restore Folder Options
If clearing Quick Access cache data does not help, reset the folder options in Windows by following the steps below:
Step 1: Press the Windows key + E to launch File Explorer. Click the three-dot menu icon at the top > select Options.
Step 2: In the Folder Options window, click the Restore Defaults button > OK.
Fix 5: Reset Quick Access Using Registry Editor
If nothing else works, consider resetting the Quick Access feature via the Registry Editor on Windows. Here’s how:
Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog > type regedit > press Enter.
Step 2: Paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter to navigate to the Ribbon key.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Ribbon
Step 3: Locate the QatItems entry in the right pane. Right-click on it > select Delete from the context menu.
Step 4: Select Yes to confirm. Restart your PC and check if Quick Access works.
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Last updated on 09 August, 2024
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Great article, saved me the hassle of starting over with a new profile.
The last step seemed to work the best for me. I was able to get the documents folder pinned to Quick Access. However, still cannot gt pictures folder pinned. Any ideas?
Brilliant help thank you. Clearing the cache as per instructions above fixed my problem totally
Step 4 saves the day! EXCELLENT article. very clear steps. Thank you.
Clearing the cache helped a lot. Either I do not see the term “Quick Access” or it has been renamed “Home” – Any ideas here?
Also, what happened to the ability we used to have where we could move items up and down in Quick Access?
Clearing Cache solved it. thanks
Brilliant – worked first time. For some reason Windows 11 removed all my Quick Access shortcuts in File Explorer which makes my workflow tedious in the extreme as I used 7 or 8 main directories on a daily basis. Weirdly this “just happened” and was not following any update or any change on my part to system settings. Thanks to this cool article, I can stop wasting time battling my OS and get on with my work. Thanks a million 🙂
Thanks alot, it really worked for me, thanks again
Hello there, I did this and it’s still not working… there’s no quick access when I go into options > the file explorer > general, and the “open file explorer to”. Quick access does not exist under the file explorer at all, and I’ve tried all these steps. Any suggestions?
Same here… I still have the option to “pin to Quick Access”, however, when attempting to navigate through File Explorer, there is no Quick Access view tab available at all. Anywhere…
Very frustrating.
Same here… I still have the option to “pin to Quick Access”, however, when attempting to navigate through File Explorer, there is no Quick Access view tab available at all. Anywhere…
Very frustrating.
Thanks for this information. Very useful.
After chatting with Microsoft with three different people, I got an answer and it’s very easy.
-windows explorer
-go to the three dots on the top menu and go to “options”
-go to “view”
-scroll down to the bottom and make sure that “show all folders” is NOT checked.
Your quick access should be back
After tried all those steps above but still failed, your way seems works for me! Thanks a lot!
Thank you sooooooo much! Your way works for me!!!