One enhancement Microsoft made in Office 2010 is the ability to remove individual files from the Recent Presentations list on the File menu. To remove a file from the list:
- Click the File tab then click Recent from the menu.
- Right-click the file you’d like to remove from the list and choose Remove from List as shown in the example below:

It’s as easy as that! Removing a file from the list deletes the pointer to the file, not the actual file.
Unfortunately, this option is not available in Office 2007. You can, however, remove all the files from the list in Office 2007 (and 2010) applications. Here’s how to do it in PowerPoint 2007/2010:
- Click the PowerPoint 2007 Office button or PowerPoint 2010 File tab.
- Click the PowerPoint Options button (PP 2007) or the Option button (PP 2010)
- Click the Advanced link and scroll to the Displaysection.
- Use the Show this number of Recent Documents spin arrows (up and down arrows) to change the value. The default value for PP 2007 is 17 documents, and 25 documents for PP 2010.
- Click OK when you’re done.
If you have questions, please leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
Kathy
Computer Applications Instructor
PowerPoint 2010 online class
PowerPoint 2007 online class
PowerPoint 2010 one-day workshop
Office 2011 for the Mac