How to Remove Folders and Files from Quick Access in Windows 10/11

With Windows Quick Access, you can easily and quickly access important files or folders on your computer. We know it's just a small detail, but without it, Windows wouldn't be the same.

The Quick Access feature offers a selection of your recently accessed files and folders, so you can quickly get back to your work. In the Windows File Explorer, the Quick Access feature is disabled by default. However, even if you have it enabled, there are ways to bypass it. Therefore, in this guide, we'll show you how to remove folders or files from Quick Access. Let's get started!

"Quick Access" is an English term that translates to "快速访问" in Chinese. It usually refers to a feature that enables users to conveniently access frequently used files, folders, applications, or websites. The specific meaning can vary depending on the context. For instance, in the Windows operating system, Quick Access allows users to swiftly access recently used files and often visited folders. In other software or browsers, it might be a shortcut or panel that simplifies accessing the content you need.

Quick Access should appear automatically on the left side of the File Explorer title bar, as shown in the screenshot below. First, open a File Explorer window, then look at the top of the window. The Quick Access toolbar should be located in the upper-left corner of the screen.

Important: The Quick Access toolbar should not be confused with the Quick Access location in the File Explorer navigation pane, as shown below:

How to Remove Files or Folders from Quick Access in Windows 10/11

In Windows 10, disabling recently used files and folders in "Quick Access" is one of the customization options provided by the operating system. Keep in mind that "Quick Access" won't function at all unless you explicitly pin files or folders to it, so consider this when disabling these two options.

Step 1. Open File Explorer Options from the Control Panel, and choose the appropriate options.

Step 2. Access the File Explorer, click on the "View" tab, and then select the "Options" dropdown from within the "View" tab.

Step 3: Select Change folder and search options from the drop-down menu.

Step Four: A window will appear, and at the bottom you'll see two check boxes that allow you to toggle whether recent files and folders are shown.

(Note: This is different from the "Recent Items" feature in Windows 10, which only shows things you've used recently. Frequent items will appear in the "Quick Access" section.)

Step 5: Untick these if you want to. "Show recently used files in Quick Access" and "Show frequently used folders in Quick Access" are two options for displaying recently used files. You can also clear the history of File Explorer sessions.

(Note: This will clear out the Quick Access items so that more recent and relevant items appear in the list.)

How to Completely Remove Quick Access from File Explorer in Windows

If you want to remove Quick Access entirely from File Explorer, there's a way to do that, too.

Step 1: Press the Windows key and R at the same time, then type regedit in the Run menu and click OK.

Step 2. Go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE," then choose the "Software" tab. Navigate to "Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer."

Step 3: Right-click anywhere in the right pane, and select "DWORD (32-bit) Value." Name it HubMode and set its value to 1 to get rid of the Quick Access menu.

Unable to remove a folder from Quick Access, how can it be resolved?

If you can't remove a folder or file from Quick Access using the above methods, try troubleshooting with these steps.

Method 1: Reset the Quick Access Recent Places List

To clear the list of recent items in Quick Access, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the File Explorer app.

Step 2: Right-click the star-shaped "Quick Access" icon to open a drop-down menu.

Step 3: Select “Options” from the drop-down menu.

Step 4. Use the Clear button to erase the screen.

This will remove all recent folders from Quick Access, but not any folders that you added manually.

Method 2: Delete Temporary Files

Here's how to remove temporary files in Windows 10/11:

Step 1. You can open and access the Temp folder through File Explorer by visiting the above “Windows Temp folder” location.

Step 2: Select all the files in the “Temp” folder that you no longer need and press the “Delete” key to remove them.

If you see a Used by Another Program dialog box, click Skip to delete the temporary files that you specified.

Method 3: Create a new folder in the old location and remove it from Quick Access

When you move a folder from the Quick Access pane to another location, you might find that it gets stuck and clicking on it results in an error message.

If you encounter this issue, create a new folder at the original location where the pinned file was. If it has the same name as the original file, you don't need to include anything in it. After creating the folder, you should be able to unpin the item from Quick Access and then permanently delete it.

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files/Folders on Windows 10

You might need file recovery software to undo the consequences of a data loss event. We recommend Data Wizard Recovery for Windows as our pick for the best data recovery software for Windows users.

Data Recovery Wizard is a comprehensive data recovery tool that employs sophisticated algorithms to check for lost files that can potentially be recovered from any storage medium. With its deep scan mode, it searches for data fragments on your hard drive that can be reassembled even after being deleted from their original storage locations.

Main features

• Recover Photos, documents, audio, music, and lost or deleted emails quickly and efficiently.
• Restore data from formatted hard drives, emptied Recycle Bins, memory cards, USB flash drives, digital cameras, or camcorders.
• Data recovery in various scenarios, including accidental deletion, formatting, hard drive failure, virus infections, and system crashes.
• Repair damaged files after recovery, such as fixing corrupted JPEG/JPG files, repairing broken videos, and mending damaged documents.

Step 1: Select the folder where you need to scan for lost files

Launch the Data Recovery Wizard. Under "Select Location," choose "Select Folder." Click "Browse," select the location of the missing folder, and then click "OK" to scan for lost folders.

Step 2: Look for and preview the found files in the lost folder

If you remember the name of the folder, type it in the search bar to quickly locate the missing file. Then, open the found folder and double-click the scanned file for preview. Alternatively, you can use the “Filter” feature to look for a specific type of file.

Select the files to recover

Step 3: Recover and save the lost folder

Finally, select the folders and files you need and click “Recover” to choose a new secure location on your computer to save the recovered data.

Conclusion

Our comprehensive guide on how to remove folders from Quick Access has explained all possible troubleshooting methods. In case of data loss due to user error or technical issues, data recovery software can be your savior, restoring all lost files and folders. So, make sure to give it a try!