How to Clear Recently Used Files in Open/Save Dialogs (LastVisitedPidlMRU)?

Every time you use a standard Windows "Open" or "Save As" dialog, Windows remembers, for that specific application, which folder you last navigated to inside it. That pairing, this app, that folder, is stored under two registry keys depending on which dialog technology the app uses:

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\LastVisitedPidlMRU for apps using the modern common file dialog.
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\LastVisitedPidlMRULegacy for apps still using the older dialog API.

It's a close cousin of shellbags, both store a folder location as a PIDL (a shell ID list) that can survive the folder, drive or network share being disconnected. The difference is that LastVisitedPidlMRU names the exact application involved, tying a specific program to a specific folder, something shellbags alone don't do.

Both keys work the same way, PrivaZer clears entries from LastVisitedPidlMRU and LastVisitedPidlMRULegacy alike, so the app-to-folder pairing no longer sits in the registry regardless of which dialog technology the program used.

It's the combination that matters: not just that you used an app, and not just that a folder was browsed, but that this specific app was pointed at this specific folder. Because the folder is stored as a PIDL rather than a plain path, the entry can reference a USB drive, a network share, or an encrypted volume that's no longer connected, and still name the application that was last used to open or save files there.

Yes. PrivaZer detects and clears entries from both LastVisitedPidlMRU og LastVisitedPidlMRULegacy as part of a scan, and can target them on their own.

Like UserAssist, MUI Cache and FeatureUsage, this lives entirely under your per-user hive (HKEY_CURRENT_USER), not a locked machine-wide hive and not a cache flushed at shutdown. PrivaZer simply removes the matching registry values, no reboot is needed for the change to take effect, and no administrator rights are required since it's your own user hive.

Yes, either way. Uninstalling the application doesn't remove its entry, and deleting the folder, or disconnecting the drive or network share it points to, doesn't remove it either. The pairing can sit in the registry indefinitely, describing exactly which app was used with a location that may no longer exist anywhere on your PC. Cleaning LastVisitedPidlMRU is what removes that leftover record.

Yes. Clearing it doesn't affect your installed programs, your files or system stability. The only visible effect is cosmetic: the next time you open that app's Open or Save dialog, it starts from the default folder instead of wherever you left off, until it's used again.

Yes, and that's normal. The next time you use an app's Open or Save dialog and navigate to a folder, a fresh entry is recorded. Cleaning removes the historical trail up to that point. Run PrivaZer periodically to keep it short.

Shellbags record every folder Explorer itself has browsed to, regardless of which app was involved. LastVisitedPidlMRU is narrower but more specific: it only covers Open/Save dialogs, and unlike shellbags, it names the exact application. Amcache, Shimcache, UserAssist, SRUM, MUI Cache, FeatureUsage and Windows Timeline all describe how a program was used, but none of them tell you which folder it was pointed at when opening or saving files. LastVisitedPidlMRU sits at the intersection: an app, and a place.

See also: Shellbags, Amcache, Shimcache, UserAssist, SRUM, MUI Cache, FeatureUsage og Windows Timeline.