If the “Show recently used files in Quick Access” option in Windows 10/11 is automatically unchecked in Folder Options, this is caused by a Personalize setting.
Resolution
Launch Settings → Personalize → Start.
Enable the following option in Windows 10:
Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar and in File Explorer Quick access
Enable the following option in Windows 11:
Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer
If the “Show recently opened items…” option is disabled, the “Show recently used files in Quick Access” option will be automatically disabled.
More Information
The “Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar” setting is stored in the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Value: Start_TrackDocs
Data: 1 or 0
The above registry edit can be overridden by the following Group Policy setting.
User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Start Menu and Taskbar → Do not keep history of recently opened documents
The “Show recently used files in Quick Access” is stored in this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Value: ShowRecent
Data: 1 or 0.
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Thank you! I thought it had been disabled by group policy but I was wrong. This solution worked for me. Many thanks!
thanks a ton Ramesh
big thanks