How Do I Delete MRU's?

Jerry, of El Dorado, Kansas writes: "How do I delete MRU's?"

MRU's are the "Most Recently Used" files that are stored within Internet Browsers.  These can include web pages and other files that used your browser to open them.

There are technical people that will tell you how to change the Windows Registry to clear these files.  I'm not a big fan of anyone, even people with some technical experience, changing or editing the Windows Registry in any way, shape or form.

Here are a couple of safer ways to delete MRU's.

1) If you'd like to delete ALL Recent Documents, including Recently Accessed Documents, Programs, and Web Pages, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the Start Button and choose Properties
• On the Start Menu Tab, click "Customize"
• Click "Clear" on the "To remove records of recently accessed documents, programs, and web pages"
• Click OK on this screen and the next screen and all MRU's will be deleted (or cleared)

2) Internet Explorer lets you view certain MRU's and allows you to delete them individually.  To do so, follow these steps:

• Open Internet Explorer
• Click on Tools | Internet Options
• Click on "Settings" in the Internet Browsing area
• Click on the "View Files" button and Windows Explorer will open showing you the list of History and Cookies.
• Simply look for the Domain Name of the MRU you wish to Delete.  Once found, click on the file and press the Delete Key.

Both of these can be a bit cumbersome, so my preference is to simply use your Favorites.  When you use your Favorites, you can save all of the important web pages that you prefer.  If you choose to use Favorites, then you may simply Delete your entire history in the Tools | Internet Options window.  This is much faster and easier, in my opinion.

If you have a question, simply click here to send me your questions.  I'll post as many answers as I can in the following Tips e-mail or on my Blog.