Upgraded to High Sierra and seems to run well, but under the Go column in Finder is Recents at the very top...it accumulates documents and doesn't seem to end. How can I delete the Recents item. If I try to delete the files, they go out of my documents. I only want to delete the useless Recents list. Past systems like Sierra were much less annoying.
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015)
It is generated by `Spotlight`
(see the second post on this link: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1071627?tstart=0)
You can make it so that nothing shows up (aka deactivating it) by doing the following.
- System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy > +
- then select your `Macintosh HD` (or whatever your HD is called)
- then click `choose`.
Now that should do it.
Ohhh Yeah!
Note:
I am on MacOs High Sierra, and I have only one HD. if you have more than one HD my guess is that you should repeat the process of pressing `+` and selecting each HD.
A less drastic alternative would be to only add the directories that contain files you don't want to show up in the `Recents`.
It is generated by `Spotlight`
(see the second post on this link: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1071627?tstart=0)
You can make it so that nothing shows up (aka deactivating it) by doing the following.
- System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy > +
- then select your `Macintosh HD` (or whatever your HD is called)
- then click `choose`.
Now that should do it.
Ohhh Yeah!
Note:
I am on MacOs High Sierra, and I have only one HD. if you have more than one HD my guess is that you should repeat the process of pressing `+` and selecting each HD.
A less drastic alternative would be to only add the directories that contain files you don't want to show up in the `Recents`.
I think there must be a problem with Recents folder on side bar in High Sierra. When I’m deleting the files in recents folder they actually deleted from the original locations file. I don’t want my work to be safe in an easy access folder where anyone who use the same computer can see what work is going on this Mac. How to stop saving files in recents folder in side bar. Please help
To quickly access all of your files, click Recents in the Finder sidebar. All the files on your Mac and in iCloud Drive are added to Recents automatically.
You can’t add or remove files from Recents . The folder is updated automatically when you create or get new files, or when you remove files from your Mac or iCloud Drive.
Dear !
Barney
I have created an empty folder on the desktop , opened finder and dragged the folder in recents .
They can be used to attach folders , the untitled folder will be both in recents and in documents .
If untitled folder is to be removed from documents then right click on it and move to trash .
They will not delete originals from recents , but the originals could be deleted if they are deleted from Documents into the trash and emptying the trash .
This is an article Recents - Apple Support
If some folders are deleted from recents the same folders will also be deleted from documents also , so the user must keep the folders in documents .
In finder preferences if the box is unchecked for recents it will only disappear from finder side bar , and some check the box or not ( its optional ) .
Menus cannot be edited. It can be removed from the Sidebar.
Recents is a search folder that shows recently used documents. They don't really exist there, are not causing any clutter, and you will deleter your originals if you delete them from Recents.
Just don't use it.
Yes they will accumulate ,You can try this method see if it works , select the contents ( press command and A ) in Recents , copy them ( command and C ) .
Take cursor on top menu bar , click on file > New finder window paste ( command and V ) in new finder window .
Insert a usb stick in the computer and once the usb stick image is on the desktop , paste the items in it , then right click on the usb stick and eject it .
Recents column will empty .
Some will suggest about reindexing the complete hard drive .
All the files on your Mac and in iCloud Drive are added to Recents automatically.
No, they are not. Recents isn't "All My Files."
Recents only shows recently used files as defined by having a kMDItemLastUsedDate extended attribute attached to the file.
Only files with that attribute show up in Recents.
Just because the icon looks the same doesn't make it the same search folder as "All My Files."
I have created an empty folder on the desktop , opened finder and dragged the folder in recents .
No, according to your screenshot, you dragged it into the Sidebar, below the Recents entry.
But that is all completely irrelevant.
ShazeeMaster wrote:
I think there must be a problem with Recents folder on side bar in High Sierra. When I’m deleting the files in recents folder they actually deleted from the original locations file. I don’t want my work to be safe in an easy access folder where anyone who use the same computer can see what work is going on this Mac. How to stop saving files in recents folder in side bar. Please help
There is nothing wrong with Recents (albeit the search criteria is lacking for its purpose). You don't seem to understand the concept of a Search Folder. Just remove Recents from the Sidebar if you don't want it there.
A Search Folder finds all of the files that match its search criteria and displays them in that one window. Nothing is moved or created in that "folder." It just gathers the matched files together. The files that are shown in a search folder act just like the original file, so if you open one, it opens the original file (not a copy of it). If you rename it, it will rename the original file. If you move it, it will move the original file (but it will still appear in the results of the search). If you delete the file, it will delete the original file.
If you believe that showing your recent files is the security problem, you have a lot to learn. The security problem is you allowing someone else to use your account on that Mac. If others need to use that Mac, then create accounts for them to use, or have them use the Guest account if it is only for quick, non-permanent access.
Whether they are shown in a folder in the Sidebar (or not as you can remove it from the sidebar) is completely irrelevant. The person you are trying to prevent seeing those files can create a search folder to find anything you have worked on within a few seconds: Cmd-F, enter "*" in search field, Sort by Date Modified.
If you yield control of your computer to someone else, you have absolutely no security. With separate accounts, you can at least protect your data from other trusted users.
No, you don't want to delete the actual files, but if you do what Touten told me, going through Spotlight, you can just tell your computer to NOT search for those Recents...whether they be Documents, Downloads, etc. I'm extremely low-tech but was able to follow his instructions through Spotlight and prevent the Recents from being generated.
If some people are making a project on a computer on which many people work, then what will you say. From where it comes to security, I just want to know is there a way to disable "Recents" folder to prevent from collecting information of work going on computer.
Thanks
If some people are making a project on a computer on which many people work, then what will you say.
Give each person an account and store the project files on a server or shared location on the Mac. It does take a little bit of effort to create a multi-user accessible shared location on the client version of macOS.
From where it comes to security, I just want to know is there a way to disable "Recents" folder to prevent from collecting information of work going on computer.
Sorry, I don't have any idea. The OS constantly tracks what has been worked on. The File System keeps track of modification times. While there may be some way to prevent Recents from tracking the files the way they do, there is no way to prevent the file system from updating the modification date. Therefore, it is impossible for you to "hide" what has been processed without manually changing modification dates when you finish editing the files.
Even if you disable Spotlight, the files can still be easily found using the Find command in Terminal. It does not use Spotlight to find the files.
This is right, theoretically. Thank you. Unfortunately, not everything is black and white.
It is hard to deny a person of general trust (family, boss) short access to your account in use and at the same time wishing to keep a couple of things private (latest research for birthday present or a surprise vacation or career site). For that reason it had always been nice to be able to delete recent files and folders from the Apple menu (or application File/recents) as a quick fix, usually good enough. That's missing in High Sierra, now.
Still, thanks for your systematic answer.
... oh, of course the delete folder and files in the apple menu is still there. What is annoying is the new smart folder "Recents" which can NOT be RESET, this is the deterioration in High Sierra, isn't it?
Recents in Finder Go Column Can't be Deleted
