file searchwindows 10windows-search
In Windows 7 it was as easy as typing in the Start menu ("Search programs" input) the name of a recently opened file.
This funcionality seems absent in Windows 10. I've checked that "Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar" is enabled – and in the File explorer, I see the file I want to open in the "Recent Files" section. But, still, it is not found when I type its name the "Search Quick access" box – as neither in the main search box, in the toolbar.
You appear to be describing the Most Recently Used (MRU) lists. Windows and some applications store the MRU list in the Registry, though many programs (particuarly those designed for portability) use local text files. For example, IrfanView maintains its MRU in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\IrfanView\i_view64.ini.
There are many MRU's in many different locations in the Registry, and there are MRU containers, such as "bags". Open one to read the details:
An excellent free tool to review MRU's in files and in the Registry is Nirsoft's Recent File View.
Best Answer
After several attempts to get Windows Search to include contents from
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recentby adding it to Indexed Locations and even creating a separate Recent folder synchronized with the contents of the Windows Recent folder and adding that to Indexed Locations and re-building the search index, I gave up and started looking at third party solutions.I tried out Classic Shell and it works exactly the way Windows should in the first place. If you can live without using the default Windows Start Menu altogether (or use it sparingly) I'd suggest replacing it with Classic Shell.