Summary: Modify the number of recent files Excel 2007 remembers, or disable this list entirely.
By default, when you click the Office button, Microsoft Excel 2007 displays a list of recently-edited documents. If you often work on the same spreadsheets, instead of having to click “Open”, navigate your hard drive or network hard drive, and then find the correct file, Excel 2007 provides easy-to-use shortcuts.
Depending on your needs, if you regularly edit or view a large variety of spreadsheets, you may want Excel 2007 to remember even more documents than it does by default.
Displaying the most recently-used Excel 2007 spreadsheets
Alternatively, if you are privacy and security-conscious, or if you share your computer with others, you may wish this recently-used file list hidden. In some instances, even accidentally listing recently-used files to office cubicle passer-bys may prove problematic.
To change Excel 2007’s behavior:
1. Access the Microsoft Excel 2007 Options menu.
2. When the “Excel Options” dialog box appears, click “Advanced” in the left pane.
3. In the right pane, scroll down to section “Display”.
4. Next to “Show this number of Recent Documents” enter the number of document names you wish Excel 2007 to remember. 50 is the maximum, 0 is the minimum (disable showing any recent documents). Note that if you have selected to show more documents than can be viewable onscreen, Excel will automatically truncate the list.