How do I clear File Explorer searches?
QI’ve been using PCS reasonably proficiently for a few years now, recently buying a new Windows 10 laptop to complement my Windows 7 desktop workhorse. While making an effort to learn the new operating system I noticed that the search bar in Windows Explorer remembers my previous searches, much like Chrome does (that’s my preferred web browser). I’d never noticed this in Windows 7 but, sure enough, when I fired up Windows Explorer on my desktop and started typing in the search bar, I was presented with suggestions that I recognised as old searches. I don’t think there’s anything embarrassing in there but, as I share both my PCS with my partner, I’d like to erase or at least manage this history — but I have no idea how. Could you explain? John Waters
AFirst up, we should point out that Microsoft renamed Windows Explorer in Windows 10, where it’s now known as File Explorer. Despite a visual overhaul it is more or less the same tool as before. However, on this one particular point the methods to achieve what you want are different — so we’ll explain each one.
File Explorer makes it very easy to clear the search history, though you do need to know where to look. First, click in the search bar as usual. Then, in the Options category of the ribbon’s Search tab, click ‘Recent searches’ followed by ‘Clear search history’ (see screenshot above).
Windows Explorer doesn’t have this option. In fact, the only way to erase the search history in the Windows 7 version of the tool is to edit the Windows registry. As ever when making changes to the registry, we’d strongly advise backing up before you begin, just in case you make a mistake.
To start, press Windows key+r, then type regedit in the Run box and hit Enter. Now, in the left-hand pane, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\windows\currentversion\ Explorer\wordwheelquery. Still in the left-hand pane, right-click the Wordwheelquery folder and then choose Delete (see screenshot above) followed by Yes to confirm.