Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Grabbing the MRU List.

Grabbing the MRU List

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 8, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Word allows you to maintain a list of the most-recently used (MRU) files. This list can record the names of the most recently opened and edited within Word. You can see the MRU list by clicking the Office button (in Word 2007), clicking the File tab of the ribbon and then Recent (in Word 2010), or clicking the File tab of the ribbon and then Open (in later versions of Word).

If you want to grab the names of the MRU files and insert those names in a document, you can use the following VBA macro:

Sub MostRecent()
    Dim r as RecentFile

    For Each r in RecentFiles
        Selection.TypeText Text:=r.Name
        Selection.TypeParagraph
    Next r
End Sub

The macro accesses each member of the RecentFiles collection, adding the name of each member to the document.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13360) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Grabbing the MRU List.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Removing Sequential Duplicate Words

In some documents it can be critical to locate and remove duplicate words. This tip examines several ways you can ...

Discover More

Inserting the User's Name in a Cell

Need to understand who is using a particular workbook? There are a number of ways you can find out, as discussed in this tip.

Discover More

WordTips Annual Archives

WordTips is a weekly newsletter that provides tips on how to best use Microsoft's word processing software. At ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Determining the Length of a Non-Document Text File

If you use a macro to create and work with text files, you can find out the length of those files using a simple command. ...

Discover More

Viewing Files of a Certain Type

When you choose to open a file, Word normally displays only those files that end with the .DOCX or .DOCM extensions. If ...

Discover More

Jumping Around Folders

If you need to move between two different folders quite regularly in the Open dialog box, you'll find the technique ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 2?

2025-01-08 10:19:49

Beepee

Hi.
I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to Word VBA.
I've used the above macro (Word 2019) - just fine, thank you (again) Allen.
I started with a long list (50 items) and discovered I can reduce this in the File>Options>Advanced>Display>Show this number of Recent Documents...
I also modified macro to list files each with a number:
Sub MostRecent() 'list recently used Files in current document
Dim r As RecentFile
Dim n As Integer
n = 1
For Each r In RecentFiles
Selection.TypeText Text:=n & " "
Selection.TypeText Text:=r.Name
Selection.TypeParagraph
n = n + 1
Next r
End Sub
What would be really handy is to add the associated date after the file name - but I've been unable to achieve this!
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
B

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.