Summary: Hide the list of recent documents when opening files from within Word 2007.
When clicking the Office button at the top-left of Microsoft Word 2007, the right-pane of the popup menu displays the recently-modified documents. This way you can quickly access files you previously edited without having to browse the hard drive or network folders.
Displaying documents recently edited in Word 2007
For privacy reasons, especially if you share your machine with others or might have “peeping toms” looking at your computer inside your office / cubicle, you may wish to disable this option.
1. Access the Microsoft Word 2007 Options menu.
2. Select “Advanced” in the left pane.
3. Scroll down to the “Display” section.
4. Next to “Show this number of Recent Documents”, enter “0”.
5. Click “OK” to save your settings.
Disabling Word 2007’s Recent Documents feature