GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 305325
request to add option to disable 'Recent Documents' lists.
Last modified: 2020-11-06 20:26:38 UTC
This bug has been opened here: https://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/2223 "In addition to the ability to list recent documents (Computer->Recent Documents) and the option to clear the list are both nice, there should also be an option to disable such behavior completely. ... (In reply to comment #0) I agree. A list of recent documents might be of use for some people, but not for me. All recent documents does is report my recent activities to any other person who may use my computer. It is annoying that I have to clear it all the time. So I hope that the recent documents option can be enabled and disabled in the future."
This belong to gnome-panel, not to recent-files. Hint: we could add a GConf key handling the Recent Documents menu item's visibility.
From bug 115764: I think this could be solved as bug #305325 by adding a pair of keys in /apps/panel/global: /apps/panel/global/disable_recent_documents (bool:false) /apps/panel/global/recent_documents_size (int:10) both recent-files and recentchooser enable a limit on the returned list of recently used files, but it's really up to their user to decide.
I request that this 'bug' (feature) be added. Could somebody take another look?
/apps/panel/global/disable_recent_documents (bool:false) /apps/panel/global/recent_documents_size (int:10) Seem to not work or not implemented ? It would be appreciate to add this feature. regards, bilizekid
(In reply to comment #4) > /apps/panel/global/disable_recent_documents (bool:false) > /apps/panel/global/recent_documents_size (int:10) > > Seem to not work or not implemented ? Not implemented.
If this is ever implemented, when disabled, "Recent Documents" should disappear from the Places menu rather than being grayed out.
> /apps/panel/global/disable_recent_documents (bool:false) > /apps/panel/global/recent_documents_size (int:10) I think this is a great way to solve the issue and allow for a user choice regarding the number of recent documents as well. The current solution of making the recently-used file immutable is not very great as it spews error output when running anything from the terminal that attempts to modify it. If you are trying to debug said application, or obtain useful terminal output, this makes it rather impossible. Also, the menu item is still there taking up space; ideally with this fixed, when the recent documents are disabled, the item will disappear and simplify the menus. Okay, thanks for the great work so far, I can't wait to see this solved!
Nooo! Please don't hide features like that... Hide != Disable On the shallow side a lot of people are most bothered by it being visible, but in the end it comes down to a computer tracking your behaviour without your consent. The last thing to do is to keep tracking but make it invisible to the user. Personally I would disable features like that by default, if they prove valuable enough to be implemented at all.
I too would like it disabled and not viewable. Thanks
I have just switched from GNOME to XFCE on my Ubuntu because of this bug. Hope to see it implemented soon
I find it very disappointing that it has been almost four years since this bug was opened and the recent documents menu can still only be disabled by a crude hack. Is there any chance that this will ever get implemented?
I also believe this should be implemented. 1. This behaviour should be enabled by default. The "common" user likes to be able to see their recently opened documents. Also, by having it enabled by default, it shows those people that don't like it that A) they don't like it, and B) they'll figure out how to turn it off. If it wasn't enabled by default, users wouldn't know it existed in the first place. 2. When set as "disabled" (via gconf-editor or otherwise), indeed, the system SHOULD NOT continue to track the information but hide the icon. +1 from me
This is already implemented in gtk. Add "gtk-recent-files-max-age=0" to your ~/.gtkrc-2.0. 'Something to click' is just missing ;-) See: http://library.gnome.org/devel/gtk/2.15/GtkSettings.html#GtkSettings--gtk-recent-files-max-age
Is anyone taking care of this bug? I'm starting as Gnome developer and want to take a look into this
A workaround is available here: http://unsharptech.com/2008/08/08/disable-recent-documents-in-gnome-2223/ Basically three commands: $ rm ~/.recently-used.xbel $ mkdir ~/.recently-used.xbel $ rm ~/.recently-used This bug has been opened for 5 years and nobody has created a gconf option to disable such behavior. Jose, please look into this request. Thank you.
The description should be updated. The launchpad bug is at: https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/30942
5 years and counting on this bug. Surely this is low-hanging fruit, no? I don't want to disable but rather I want to increase both the max age and max items.
Any news on this? How can I disable the creation of the .recently-used.xbel file?
Recording personal use information must always be possible to disable with an obvious GUI click. Firefox has a privacy mode, and settings which allow me to say not to store history. Apart from that, the implementation is hideous. Dropping dozens or hundreds of files directly in my home dir is not acceptable, period. Put it in a subdir. Please fix this.
Various workarounds: http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-91154.html
Users shouldn't have to resort to that. It's an issue of privacy
Disable in my opinion means: 1. it does not do it's work anymore. This would mean that no information is added to the recently used list. 2. The Gui greys it out. At this moment, the Gui does grey out the thing in places, but keeps going there in the file selector dialogs. This is in my opinion a no-go if the feature is disabled. About the displaying there are two things you could say: 1. disabled means still visible somewhere. 2. disabled means invisible. Most programs implement disabled properties as greyed-out items to show the user that the property should somehow be accessable if wanted (if it is not obvious, the user should be able to find it in the manual). I would like to not see the thing when it is disabled (it only takes place on the screen which could be used otherwise) The above logically this would than mean that an option to make the "recently used files" invisible should be implemented. In case of this feature, disabled and invisible are almost equivalent so in the end I would say that the two can be merged (maybe the fact that disabeling would mean that the display items are made invisible can be part of the comment in the options dialogs.)
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