{"id":857,"date":"2009-02-13T23:40:35","date_gmt":"2009-02-13T23:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=857"},"modified":"2019-06-25T05:21:02","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T05:21:02","slug":"clear-file-search-mru-history-windows-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/clear-file-search-mru-history-windows-7\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clear File Search MRU History in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you click the Search text box in Explorer, the previously typed search queries (MRU) are displayed in the drop-down box. Also, when you type a search query, the autocomplete lists possible matches as you type. Here is how to clear the search entries individually and collectively, in Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10.<\/p>\n

You can remove an item from the Search MRU list by highlighting that item (using the mouse, or Up\/Down keys) and then pressing the DELETE key.<\/p>\n

\"clear<\/p>\n

In Windows 10, you can use “Clear search history” option listed under “Recent searches” ribbon button in the Search tab.<\/p>\n

\"clear<\/p>\n

To clear the entire Search MRU History via the registry directly, use these steps:<\/p>\n

1. Click Start, type Regedit.exe<\/b> and press ENTER.<\/p>\n

2. Navigate to the following branch:<\/p>\n

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\WordWheelQuery<\/pre>\n
3. Right-click the WordWheelQuery<\/b> branch and choose Delete<\/p>\n
This clears the entire search MRU list. To clear specific entries, double-click each binary value until you find the appropriate value to delete. Right-click on the value and choose Delete.<\/p>\n
\"clear<\/p>\n
4. Exit the Registry Editor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you click the Search text box in Explorer, the previously typed search queries (MRU) are displayed in the drop-down box. Also, when you type a search query, the autocomplete lists possible matches as you type. Here is how to clear the search entries individually and collectively, in Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[441,683],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows","tag-registry","tag-windows-search"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":924,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/disable-explorer-search-box-suggestions-windows-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":0},"title":"How to Disable Explorer Search Box Suggestions in Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier we saw how to clear the search MRU entries in Windows. Are you one of those who finds the Search Box suggestion pop-ups annoying, and want to turn off the feature? Here is a registry edit which disables the search box suggestions in File Explorer. Disable File Explorer Search\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27399,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/clear-ms-paint-recent-files-mru-windows-11-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":1},"title":"Clear MS Paint Recent Files History in Windows 11\/10","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The MS Paint app maintains a list of the most recently opened files. The list, shown when you click on the File menu, contains the last nine files you opened. This article tells you how to clear the Paint MRU history in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Clear Paint MRU\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"clear mspaint recent history windows 10\/11 - hive","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/mspaint-recent-mru-w11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/mspaint-recent-mru-w11.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/mspaint-recent-mru-w11.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/mspaint-recent-mru-w11.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4731,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/run-mru-history-not-saved-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":2},"title":"Fix: Run Command History Not Saved in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"December 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Run dialog in Windows stores the commands, folder paths, and website addresses you typed. The entries are saved to the registry and persist until you manually clear them. Cause If the Run dialog (Winkey + R) doesn't retain the recently used command history (a.k.a. MRU entries), it can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"run history not saved","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/run-mru-not-saved.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-wordpad-notepad-settings-defaults\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":3},"title":"How to Reset Notepad and WordPad to Default","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've changed the default font settings and other options in WordPad or Notepad and want to revert back to Windows default values, this post tells you how to do that. Reset Notepad settings If you've altered the default Notepad font or encoding (using the iDefaultEncoding registry value), the margin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reset notepad store app","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/notepad-uwp-app-reset.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2941,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/save-as-dialog-empty-grayed-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":4},"title":"Save As Dialog Empty or Grayed Out in Various Programs","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you attempt to open or save a file from various applications that use Windows File Open or Save As dialog, the dialog boxes may appear blank or with a grey background, without the folder view or navigation pane. Here is what it might look like. On some systems, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/commondialog-fix.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/commondialog-fix.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/commondialog-fix.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53785,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wrong-icon-start-search-results\/","url_meta":{"origin":857,"position":5},"title":"Generic Icon Shown for Apps in Start Search Results in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When you search for an application in the Start menu search, an incorrect icon may appear for an app. For example, the File Explorer entry in the search results may show up with a generic icon or glyph, as in the following screenshot: However, the application's shortcut may show up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"generic icon start menu search results - GIF","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/startsearchresults_generic_icon.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/startsearchresults_generic_icon.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/startsearchresults_generic_icon.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}