How to Turn off File Path URI history in Run Dialog

When you open the Run dialog and type f or / (forward slash), the recently accessed files may appear in the list as file path URIs.

You wonder where these entries are stored, as they’re not in the RunMRU registry location.

Resolution

The file URI history comes from the IE browsing history database. There are two options to prevent the file URI history from appearing in the Run dialog.

Option 1: Turn off auto-suggest

There is a registry edit to prevent the file URI suggestions from appearing in the Run dialog. However, the edit also turns off auto suggestions in the File Explorer address bar and the common dialog boxes.

Launch regedit.exe and go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoComplete

Set AutoSuggest to no.

Reference: How to Enable AutoSuggest and AutoComplete in Explorer Address Bar and Run Dialog

---

Option 2: Clear IE history

As mentioned above, the registry edit in Option 1 also turns off auto-suggest in File Explorer address bar and file open/save as dialogs. If you don’t want to disable AutoSuggest, you can clear the file URI auto-suggest entries by running this command:

rundll32.exe inetcpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1

If you use it regularly, you may create a shortcut for the above command and run it. You can also clear the history regularly by running the command using Task Scheduler.

Note: The above command is equivalent to clearing the IE browsing history using inetcpl.cpl.

Launch inetcpl.cpl to open Internet Options. Select the “Content” tab and click “Settings” next to AutoComplete. Click “Delete AutoComplete history…“. Select “History” and click “Delete.”