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How can I get rid one of my files in my Recents list?

Mac 10.11.6 Dropbox 55.4.171

In my "Recent Files" there is a file that someone shared with me 4 months ago. As in "JoeBlow added 4 months ago". No one has used it since then. I want it to go away. Do I have to ask Jow Blow to stop sharing it with me?? That file is NOT in my own sharing folder. That is, do I have no control over what is in my "Recent Files" list, and other people can litter up that "Recent Files" list of mine?

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Accepted answers

Elixir

I am sorry that your issue is not what I thought. I am not sure why the file is in recent item list if the file is no longer available. One way to clear your recent item list would be to add lot of files inside your Dropbox folder, once sync is complete you can delete them. For example, you can go to your Applications folder in your mac and copy the Textedit.app and paste inside your Dropbox folder. Generally, an app contains hundreds of files. Give it sometime, Dropbox will sync those files, then numerous new files will be in your recent files list. Finally, you can delete the Textedit app from your Dropbox folder. Then Dropbox should clear all the recent files list. It will also remove your docx file that is now on the top of the recent files list. But next time you edit, it will come back.

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Lusil

Hi @DanLester!

Although it is currently not possible to clear items in the Recents list from the web, you can do this on the mobile app by following the steps below:

Navigate to settings.
Scroll down to advanced features.
Tap hide recent items on Home.

A workaround that I’d like to mention though is that as you work on more files, the file in question will start getting filtered out from your Recents list.

I hope this helped to some extent. :slight_smile: Let me know if you have any other questions!

DanLester

Thank you. I was afraid of that. I do use Dropbox regularly, though not frequently. Maybe a couple of files a week. But that one file NEVER goes away.

Lusil

Thanks for getting back to me on this, @DanLester.

Just to ensure that we’re on the same page, could you please clarify where you’re seeing this file in your Recents, as well as sending me a screenshot (omitting any personal info) so as to have a better understanding as to what you’re seeing?

Thanks in advance! :upside_down:

DanLester

OK, here's my Dropbox pulldown showing "Recent Files". The second one is the one that won't go away. The first one belongs to me, and needs to stay. As I use Dropbox, and post things there, this display ends up with all sorts of stuff in it. But I have control of all of those things.

Screen Shot 2018-08-28 at 8.02.48 AM.jpg

Elixir

Hey @DanLester, Currently there is no way to clear the Recent Files list in the desktop app. If you add/edit more files, the old ones will be shifted downward and eventually be removed. There are couple of workaround to get rid of this item.

One thing you can do is that you keep the share folder but do not sync locally in your computer. Go to the Dropbox Preferences > go to the Sync tab > Choose folders to sync > uncheck the folder that JoeBlow has shared with you. It will remove the local copy of the shared folder and the recent files item. You can still access the file by login in to Dropbox web.
You can leave the shared folder that JoeBlow has shared with you if you no longer need it. In order to leave the share folder > login to Dropbox web > Browse the folder > click the Share button on the right when you hover over the folder > then in the sharing settings window, click the dropbown menu next to your name > choose Remove my access.

DanLester

"Go to the Dropbox Preferences > go to the Sync tab > Choose folders to sync > uncheck the folder that JoeBlow has shared with you."

Unfortunately, when I open the Sync tab, there are no folders listed there to uncheck. Completely blank.

"In order to leave the share folder > login to Dropbox web > Browse the folder > click the Share button on the right when you hover over the folder > then in the sharing settings window, click the dropbown menu next to your name > choose Remove my access."

Unfortunately, when I log in to the Dropbox web, that offending file is not listed under "My Files" or "Sharing">"Folders" or >"Files".

Elixir

Hi @DanLester, Is this file belongs to a shared folder or just a single shared file? My method should work in case it is a part of a shared folder. Can you please first locate the file? In your desktop, click over the file in the recent item list, it will open a finder window. Just note where is the file located? Is it inside your root Dropbox folder? Or is it inside a shared folder? You can identify a shared folder by people icon on it.

DanLester

As noted, it is a pdf file. I click over the file in the Recents list, and nothing happens. When I click on "Copy Link" next to the file name (not shown, for some reason, on my attached image), I just get

As I said, this is a file that JoeBlow has shared with me. Also, as I said, when I go to my Dropbox website, that file is nowhere to be found.

Elixir

DanLester

Well, thank you very much. I did exactly what you suggested - putting Textedit.app in the Dropbox, letting it sync on all the associated files, and then removing that app. The offending file disappeared! Not quite sure why. When I remove the added files, why should it remove the one I didn't add? My Recents list is now clean.

Elixir

@DanLester wrote:
When I remove the added files, why should it remove the one I didn't add?

Dropbox keeps tracks of about 20 files in the recent files list. When you add more that those number of files, the older entries goes away. So when you added the Textedit.app, i.e., 100+ files, the older entries are removed. Now since you deleted those new files, they are also removed from the recent items list completely emtying the list. Next time anew file is added or changes are made in your Dropbox, thoese will appear.

DanLester

Pretty subtle! And a nice trick for removing Recents. Thanks again.