right click vs taskbar icon no longer shows recent solutions

Andrew Mercer 441

Right click the VS 2017 (community) taskbar icon and you see recent solutions. You could launch VS in a particular solution by clicking the solution name. With VS 2019, that no longer happens. All you see is launch VS 2019 and unpin from taskbar. I found the 2017 way to be convenient and quicker. Is there a way to enable it in VS 2019?

Also, I don't have a clue about how to use tags.

Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-07T00:05:33.577+00:00

FYI, VS 2019 community V 16.11.2

Accepted answer

Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-15T06:02:27.35+00:00

The purpose of this entry is to be the place where this issue gets accepted even though it is not resolved. Apparently I can't accept my reply entry of 10 minutes earlier.
PengGe suggested another forum for this issue. Why doesn't it suffice to re-tag this issue as windows-10-general? All of this is counterintuitive; tags remain a mystery. I'm done with this.
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5 additional answers

PengGe-MSFT 3,326 Reputation points

2021-09-07T06:15:54.14+00:00

Hi @Andrew Mercer

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

Have you reinstalled Visual Studio before?

Desktop right click ->Personalize ->Start ->Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start and Taskbar, turn this on.

Open some projects in Visual Studio, then close Visual Studio, right-click the taskbar icon, you will see recent solutions.
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Update:
You need to enable this feature and open some Visual Studio projects before you can find it in the recent projects in the taskbar.

As you said, the recent list in the taskbar is not related to the "Open recent" in the Open Project interface of Visual Studio. The former is the historical operation record of Windows.

If you want to delete the records in the recent list, you can right-click the project name and select Remove from list.

"If you right click open space on the desktop, one option is "open with visual studio". If you do this, you have opened the desktop in VS, whatever that means. It looks like a blank project/solution." The desktop is also a folder, so right-click on the blank area of the desktop, and you can select "open with visual studio". In the solution explorer, you will find all the files you have stored on the desktop.

Sincerely,
Peng
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Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-07T11:47:02.617+00:00

Thanks for reply, but 'show recently opened items...' is enabled. Also, this is not really a reinstall - it is a new install of VS 2019 on a new machine. My experience with VS 2013 and 2017 was on an older machine that finally failed.

I think I have stumbled onto the answer. If you right click open space on the desktop, one option is "open with visual studio". If you do this, you have opened the desktop in VS, whatever that means. It looks like a blank project/solution. From this point forward, right click on the taskbar VS icon raises a menu that contains recent solutions as it used to. Go figure. Too weird for words.

I plan to leave this question open for a few days to see if quirks emerge. I'll mark this as the answer if all is well.

Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-07T11:59:55.95+00:00

One final item FYI...

Presently, two solutions appear in the menu when I right click the taskbar VS icon. They are two of my projects. Desktop used to be there but I deleted it from the list via 'Remove from this list'.

Contrast with VS, File, Recent Projects and Solutions. That shows my 20 solutions plus the Desktop solution (I upped the limit from 10 to 24 max). I don't see any way to delete an entry or 'clear all' as I've seen it described in various web searches.

These two 'recent' lists appear to be unrelated VS features.

PengGe-MSFT 3,326 Reputation points

2021-09-08T07:20:52.343+00:00

Hi @Andrew Mercer
I updated my answer, please check it.

Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-11T09:40:09.27+00:00

i have 'unaccepted' this issue because the problem is back, and it applies to more than visual studio. it applies to windows at large including notepad. i have searched the web and have found other complaints about this issue.

the problem is as follows. right click a taskbar icon produces irregular popup menu behavior. it always shows two items, the program to run and 'unpin from taskbar'. if an instance of the program is running, it always shows 'close window'. at the discretion of the program in question, you will see other options. in notepad, you see recent files. in visual studio, you see recent projects/solutions. the problem is with these other options. they are sometimes displayed, and sometimes they are not. a change of state is not easily reproduced - it is intermittent and without any pattern i can see.

the problem is quirky and without pattern. but it is definitely a windows problem because notepad sometimes shows recent file(s) and sometimes not.

this problem is categorized under vs-general, and i don't know what to do about that.

the workaround is to use more interaction than right click the icon and left click your choice. in other words, a user convenience is degraded.

fyi, i am running windows 10.0.19042 Build 19042 on a new Dell xps 8940, x64.

Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-11T11:13:24.863+00:00

i2nd time around for this post, 1st try got lost. i really don't like the interaction mechanics of this forum.

i 'unaccepted' because the problem is back, and it applies to other items than VS eg notepad. so, this problem is a windows problem, not a vs problem, yet it is tagged vs-general. i leave that to you since tags are a mystery to me.

right click on the notepad taskbar icon exhibits the same intermittent and irregular behavior as VS as described in my OP. sometimes you see the recent files, sometimes you don't. when in one state, it stays there for a while and then without any pattern, it can change to the other state. I don't see this as a settings problem because the state changes happen at random. the problem is hard to reproduce. surf the web and you will find other similar complaints.

the workaround is to use more interaction than the convenient right click taskbar icon, left click your choice. a convenience is degraded, nothing more.

fyi, new x64 dell xps 8940 with windows 10.0.19042.
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Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-13T10:44:46.353+00:00

more info for anyone interested.

i made no settings changes, yet notepad started showing a recent file yesterday. i started notepad by typeing 'notepad somefile' at the command prompt, and then right click the notepad taskbar icon showed four lines: 'recent', 'somefile', 'NotePad', 'Unpin from Taskbar'. Correct! Subsequent notepad entries and exits have not updated the recent list (the notepad jump list). Not correct! This is clearly a Microsoft issue involving windows and/or notepad.

Also (with no setting changes) visual studio task bar icon clicks started showing a 'recent' line followed by a list of some recent VS solution files.

The most recent windows updates were applied Sep 3 2021 when this new computer was fired up for the first time. they pre-date the first observation of this problem. Intel update 27.27.100.9664 was applied on Sep 8, but i don't see the connection to this issue.

I'll continue posting as conditions warrant so long as this issue remains open.
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1 person found this answer helpful.
PengGe-MSFT 3,326 Reputation points

2021-09-14T09:24:28.67+00:00

Hi @Andrew Mercer
Cause your issue is more related to Windows, I suggest you go to this website and post a thread to get help.

Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-15T05:49:38.457+00:00

Ok, at this point, I agree that the .net forum is not the place for this issue. To get it resolved here, I'll 'accept' an answer. But one attempt at the link you identified stopped me cold. It wanted me to make a microsoft account, I already have one, and there was no reasoning with the web page. I am out of energy fighting my way through these counterintuitive fora, so I'm not going to follow up. Maybe some kind soul will.

Jeremy Heiner 1 Reputation point

2022-08-25T15:10:08.313+00:00

Super helpful. Another app, Omen Gaming Hub, had "optimized" my computer by clearing all jump lists. Frustrated that when right-clicking the Visual Studio 2022 icon in the Taskbar, that my recently opened solution would not show, I found the above Notepad tip which led to a fix:

Instead of opening Visual Studio and clicking MyProject.sln, navigate in File Explorer to the sln file and open it from there. This will make it show in the recently opened items jump list again.

(as long as your have turned On the option in Settings -> Personalization -> Start -> "Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar and in File Explorer Quick Access")
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Andrew Mercer 441 Reputation points

2021-09-11T11:56:36.557+00:00

3rd and last try at posting more on this issue to this truly awful blog. previous two were submitted and they have vanished.

the problem in the OP is back and is not confined to visual studio. thus, i have 'unaccepted' it. right click a taskbar icon intermittently and irregularly either shows or does not show recent items. when it gets in the show or no-show state, it stays there for a while (days), so it is hard to reproduce. it is windows wide, not just vs. it happens with notepad. this is not a settings issue, it is a bug in windows re jump lists. surf the web for similar complaints. this question is tagged as vs-general, but it is a windows issue, not a vs issue. i leave that to you because tags are a mystery to me.
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Cgil 1 Reputation point

2022-10-06T12:04:49.783+00:00

I believe this has been happening since the most recent feature update in windows 11. It's not just a problem with VS code for me, but all applications. Ex: Chrome used to have recent pages/profile options, file explorer had recent files, steam would have recently launched games.

Edit: This literally started working for VS Code after posting this comment. I feel betrayed - but cannot delete the post (or don't see the option)
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Imp Feather 0 Reputation points

2023-07-19T22:17:43.84+00:00

First off. The fact that someone is behind the scenes holding keys to accessing such a staple feature of the established User Experience. I can not believe the level of plausible denial being exhibited on this topic. The ing Taskbar icons no longer show the recent files (PERIOD). Will someone at Microsoft take care of this ! At first I realized that it was just hard to find, then thought "user issue-me" nope, then I thought "Microsoft is pulling another Windows NT-2000" nah, then I agitatedly clicked that stupid floating island that conveniently obscures most of my desktop-hey just what I've been waiting for all these years (as a google SEngn person); fundamentally a Microsoft Edge Web Browser imposed in front of me. I cant esc. click it, there's no setting to get rid of it, I have to Interact and click my desktop to get rid of it. It used to be that my first click was on a relevant file or program. But, now MS has provided this wonderful detour (In a school-zone, driving Ms. Daisy kind of way). I'm blessed with an (internet based laptop), it's great! Remember the download lag problems of the early 1990's internet? It's Back! In the form of you computer! SO we can corner you into "accepting our big fat D in your User Experience" a more interactive and.... STOP RIGHT THERE! I use MS for the LACK of F (trying to be like Mac) interactivity. I got to realizing, this operating system reminds me of a web page. You know, you want people to explore, invite them with lots of interesting features, feature problem solving is a super easy way to create a "occupation-duration" with the user, well actual, impose it. And what better way to do that than to * with important * that people rely on accessing. So, it's web-based, and it values my clicks and interactivity more than a computer needs (my local drive, note pad, excel, you know BUSINESS S*. This isn't a video game! It's my mobile business performance!!! I don't want a magical world of façades that whisp around, float, smile ( the F* paperclip character), or try to be my * friend. It can be my friend by showing my * recent file history when I right-click on the program taskbar icon, since 1990; and staying out of my way! Microsoft get your D* OUT of my user experience! I've only regretted this update that eventually cornered me to "accepting it" with repeating "your computer will shutdown in 5 minutes for scheduled update". Why don't you ing diversify you idoit's, stop forcing everyone into an idea of the perfect user experience, built for jet-setting teenagers! I'm 40 and I have taken most of my work day aside, to actually employ a fare tenacity to research HOW TO FIX IT! Which like everything should (as it used to) be optional and easily accessible NOT INTER-ing-ACTIVE! But I get it, you need clicks on your web-based interface. Such an item and those similar shouldn't be messed with. You need to diversify for the user's sake. The version you push should have some obvious option to accept or deny the changes and just as attentively offer a quick way to modify settings by the needs of my needs not interested in replicating a jet-setting teenager! However thank you for all of the truly wonderful things I have been able to achieve when not inconvenienced and that your company has done.
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