Increasing the number of recent files in the file menu?

[Salmon Egg]

Is there a way to increase the number of recent files that can be selected
from the file menu. I have a screen that could handle 20 of them.

Bill
-- Ferme le Bush

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

Is there a way to increase the number of recent files that can be selected
from the file menu. I have a screen that could handle 20 of them.

No, nine is the maximum. No way to adjust it higher. Pretty silly, isn't it?
Most other apps have a "Recent Documents" menu item with (usually) far more
sub-items possible.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
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PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using -
**2004**, X or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions
otherwise.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

If there are *specific* documents you access regularly but infrequently, the
Work menu might be a good supplement, and it can handle more than 9.

Throw Work Menu into Word's Help for a *little* more info, or just click on
Word | Add to Work Menu when the document is open. For even more control and
efficiency, see here:
http://www.mcgimpsey.com/macoffice/word/workmenu/workmenu.html

No, nine is the maximum. No way to adjust it higher. Pretty silly, isn't it?
Most other apps have a "Recent Documents" menu item with (usually) far more
sub-items possible.

Really, Paul? Preview gives me 10. Dreamweaver gives me 10. Script
Editor gives me 10. TextWrangler 16. TextEdit I don't use frequently enough
to know.

I'm guessing, Bill, that the number of recent documents is probably not
really determined by the size of the menu, but more by usability studies
that suggest these types of lists are most efficient around a certain size.
At 20, it starts taking longer to skim the list, and you lose some of the
efficiency.

For instance, the only way to make sure Apple | Recent Items will have the
application I look for there, is to set it to 30 (default is 10), and it's
pretty slow to use at that length. Not as slow as the Apps folder, though.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Is there a way to increase the number of recent files that can be selected
from the file menu. I have a screen that could handle 20 of them.

As Paul said, 9 is the maximum. But I once wrote an add-in that extended
that to a user-defined number by tracking files and adding items to,
IIRC, a custom menu. It seemed a bit more reliable than the existing MRU
file list, too, IIRC.

 

[Salmon Egg]

I'm guessing, Bill, that the number of recent documents is probably not
really determined by the size of the menu, but more by usability studies
that suggest these types of lists are most efficient around a certain size.
At 20, it starts taking longer to skim the list, and you lose some of the
efficiency.

What you say is true. But usually I use certain spreadsheets over and over
again. Every now and then, I use an ad hoc sequence Excel spreadsheets that
pushes the most recently used ones down the list. Excel does not have a Work
menu although it might be possible to add one in via the customizing route.

Bill
-- Ferme le Bush

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

What you say is true. But usually I use certain spreadsheets over and over
again. Every now and then, I use an ad hoc sequence Excel spreadsheets that
pushes the most recently used ones down the list.

I had a feeling--that's the same situation I run into. Exactly what
something like a Work menu is designed for, and overall more efficient than
a larger Recent Items.

Excel does not have a Work
menu although it might be possible to add one in via the customizing route.

I'm almost positive JE McGimpsey has a way to set up a Work menu in Excel,
cause I keep meaning to ask for it. Try asking on the Excel group, since
this one is for Word.
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.mac.office.excel

Daiya

 

[CyberTaz]

Have you taken a look at the File>Project Gallery - Recent tab?

You might also want to take a look at XL 'Workspaces' as well as considering
the use of a working folder to store Aliases for the frequently-used files
if they all can't be stored in the same location.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Salmon Egg]

I'm almost positive JE McGimpsey has a way to set up a Work menu in Excel,
cause I keep meaning to ask for it. Try asking on the Excel group, since
this one is for Word.

Thanks for letting me know. Entourage, the name of the group truncates in
the middle of "office."

Bill

-- Ferme le Bush

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Thanks for letting me know. Entourage, the name of the group truncates in
the middle of "office."

Ah, interesting.

I assume you mean in the left column, right? You can widen the left column
to fix that, if you like. Also, when the focus is on a newsgroup, it should
say the full name above the list of messages, just under the toolbar, so you
can check (if you aren't such an ng addict you memorize the alphabetical
position. Using a preview pane, the group name also shows at To: in the
header of each message.

Thunderbird's use of m.p.m.office, etc, in the left column, is a very nice
feature--but sadly other things about it annoyed me. You could Help | Send
Feedback and request Entourage abbreviate the names.

 

[Salmon Egg]

I assume you mean in the left column, right? You can widen the left column
to fix that, if you like. Also, when the focus is on a newsgroup, it should
say the full name above the list of messages, just under the toolbar, so you
can check (if you aren't such an ng addict you memorize the alphabetical
position. Using a preview pane, the group name also shows at To: in the
header of each message.

That is what I mean. Because of limited monitor real estate, it is not
realistic to make these columns wide enough just to get the right hand side
to appear all the time. The penalty is to let a fading memory forget what is
hidden. :=)

Bill
-- Ferme le Bush

 

[Jim Gordon]

Hi Salmon,

You can only go up to 9 in the File menu.

However, the Project Gallery has a much higher limit.

From the File menu choose Project Gallery then Customize. You'll see
that you can increase the number of recent files. I've set mine to 300.

Then, just use the Recent tab of the Project Gallery to see your
recently used files, which you can order ascending or descending and you
can change the view to show a preview or a list.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

I didn't know that. Thanks, Jim.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
ignored.

PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using -
**2004**, X or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions
otherwise.

 

[Clive Huggan]

I'll second that ­ with thanks!

Clive
======

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

I'm thirding it. I even checked out the Project Gallery on the previous
file menu question, but somehow missed the whole Customize tab.

Sadly, the Project Gallery is not exempt from whatever glitch keeps wiping
out my Recent Items in Excel.

Daiya

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Just read an interesting tip in MacWorld that relates to this. Did you know
about the Project Gallery Launcher? I didn't. Here's the tip (contributed
by a reader named K.M. Peterson):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Project Gallery Launcher [Apps/MSFT Office 2004/Office] streamlines two
daily tasks: First, I often use templates to start new documents. The
Launcher makes the process of picking a template and starting a new document
simple. Second, I can easily look up recent Office documents from the
Launcher, which has a preview pane that lets me view those documents by
date. Best of all, it's really quick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
MacOffice MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html>
My Site: <http://www.bethrosengard.com>

 

[Beth Rosengard]

It may be obvious but I should probably state this anyway: If you keep the
Launcher in your dock, you pretty much don't need the Office apps (except
Entourage) there. It's not my own preference but it might prove useful to
some folks.

Beth

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

No, had no idea you could drop that in the Dock. That does make it more
efficient than File | Project Gallery, which I just can't get used to.

Thanks, Beth.

Just read an interesting tip in MacWorld that relates to this. Did you know
about the Project Gallery Launcher? I didn't. Here's the tip (contributed
by a reader named K.M. Peterson):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Project Gallery Launcher [Apps/MSFT Office 2004/Office] streamlines two
daily tasks: First, I often use templates to start new documents. The
Launcher makes the process of picking a template and starting a new document
simple. Second, I can easily look up recent Office documents from the
Launcher, which has a preview pane that lets me view those documents by
date. Best of all, it's really quick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~