Decrypt/Read/Modify “.automaticDestinations-ms” and/or “.customDestinations-ms”

Question

Does anyone know how to read the files Microsoft creates for JumpLists?

I want to clear from JumpList all history/most visited/recently closed, WITHOUT clearing up the t

Answer 1

Here are steps to the hacky approach I took to clear Chrome's Recent list:

1. Open the AutomaticDestinations folder
   • %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
2. Sort the AutomaticDestinations folder descending by Date modified
3. Open Chrome and visit a site
4. In the AutomaticDestinations folder, rename the most recently modified item
5. Right click on Chrome's icon
   • If the Recent list has been removed, you have the right file and can delete it.
   • Otherwise, repeat steps 3 through 5 until the Recent list is empty
   • Don't forget to return the other files back to their original names.

To clear the Recent list of other applications, open them and perform and action that will cause their list to be modified.

The advantage of this method is that removes the need to read .automaticDestinations-ms files.

Answer 2

The file is a Structured Storage file.

Answer 3

The OpenMCDF project is capable of reading and basic editing out of the box and you can easily create a specific tool with the library.