Office Settings & Configuration

How to Remove Old File Paths from the Office Save As List

Chanuka Geekiyanage Sep 28, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to remove outdated company SharePoint or cloud folder paths from the Microsoft Office recent folders and Save As suggestions.

How to Remove Old File Paths from the Office Save As List

Product: Microsoft Office
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: The user has left an organization and wants to clean up the Office interface by removing the old employer's cloud-based file paths and SharePoint connections from the save suggestions.
Observed behavior: Old SharePoint and cloud file paths continue to appear in the file name dropdown and recent folder suggestions when attempting to save a document.

Before you start

Ensure you are completely signed out of your previous organization's Microsoft or Office 365 account, as cloud locations are often automatically synced to active account profiles.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove the SharePoint Location via Office Account Settings

Disconnect the old enterprise cloud service directly from your Office account settings so it stops populating in your save locations.

Microsoft Office links SharePoint and cloud drives to your user profile as Connected Services. Removing the service will permanently clear its associated paths from your Save As menu.

Access the Save As Menu

Open your Microsoft Office application (e.g., Word or Excel), click on the 'File' tab in the top left corner, and select 'Save As'.

Navigate to Account Options

Look for the 'Account' option, typically located at the bottom of the left-hand pane or within the main File menu depending on your Office version.

Locate Connected Services

Find the section listing your connected services. Look for the specific SharePoint or cloud location tied to your previous organization.

Remove the Location

Select 'Remove' next to the outdated SharePoint location. When prompted to confirm, click 'Yes' to finalize the removal.

Remove the SharePoint Location via Office Account Settings

Note on Document File Paths: A file's actual storage location (its file path) cannot be removed from the document itself. If you want to change a document's path, you must save the file to a new location on your local drive.

Solution 2

Clear Outdated Paths from Recent Folders

Manually delete lingering folder suggestions from the Recent list if they are not tied to a connected service.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do old SharePoint paths still appear in my recent list after leaving a company?

Office caches recent locations and keeps connected enterprise services linked to your software profile. Even if your account access is revoked by the company, the shortcut remains in your Office software until you manually remove the connected service or clear the recent list.

Can I remove a file path from a document's properties?

No, a file path simply represents where the document is currently stored on a computer or cloud drive. You cannot 'remove' it, but you can change it by using the 'Save As' function to save the file to an entirely new location.

How do I clear all recent documents and folders in Office at once?

You can clear all unpinned recent items by right-clicking any file or folder in your Recent list and selecting 'Clear unpinned items'. Alternatively, you can go to File > Options > Advanced, and set the number of recent documents to display to zero.

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