MRU Files Won't Display

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 1, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


MRU is an acronym for Most Recently Used and indicates a list of the most recently opened workbooks within Excel. The purpose of the list is to make it easier to access the files you were recently working on. Ian noted that he can't get Excel to display the MRU list and is wondering if he is missing something.

It is possible that something could be being missed. There are a couple of things you should check in this regard. First, turn on the MRU list in this manner:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box, click Advanced.
  3. Scroll through the available options until you find the Display group. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Advanced section of the Excel Options dialog box.

  5. Change the first control in the group (Show this Number of Recent Documents) to reflect the number of MRU listings you want.
  6. Click OK.

This setting controls the number of listings shown in the Recent Documents list when you click the Office button (Excel 2007), display the File tab of the ribbon (Excel 2010), or display the File tab of the ribbon and click Open (later versions of Excel). This list of workbooks is unlike the older MRU list, in that you can display more of them.

Both Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 have a different place that you can display an MRU list: at the bottom of the left side of the File tab pane. This list of workbooks is entirely different than the MRU. You control how many files are listed there in different ways, depending on your version of Excel.

If you are using Excel 2010 and you display the File tab of the ribbon, you'll see an option at the very bottom of the tab. This check box is labeled "Quickly Access this Number of Recent Documents" and controls the number of files displayed.

If you are using Excel 2013 and later versions and display the Advanced options in the Excel Options dialog box (see the screen shot earlier in this tip), there is an option to "Quickly Access this Number of Recent Workbooks." This is the setting that controls the number of files listed on the File tab pane.

Once you've gotten your various MRU lists set up to display the number of workbooks you want, then you just need to start using Excel. As you do, the lists are "filled out" and provide a way to get to your most recently used workbooks. Remember, however, that if you move your Excel files to a different location, those files will no longer be accessible through the MRU.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9509) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Footnotes within Footnotes

Need to add footnotes to your footnotes? It's actually allowed by some style guides, but Word doesn't make it so easy.

Discover More

Inserting a Paragraph from within a Macro

Macros are often used to process documents, resulting in changes of one manner or another. If you need your macro to add ...

Discover More

Deriving Antilogs

Creating math formulas is a particular strong point of Excel. Not all the functions that you may need are built directly ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Determining the Length of a Text File

When processing plain text files in a macro, it is often helpful to know how much data the file contains. The normal way ...

Discover More

Correctly Saving Delimited Files

Delimited files are often created through Excel so that your data can be exported to other programs. If the delimited ...

Discover More

Creating a CSV File

Need to get your data into a format that can be easily read by other programs? Chances are good that a simple CSV file ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 + 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.