Residual File Names in Save/Save As Dialog Boxes

With regard to clearing lists of [recently opened and/or saved] file names in Windows file dialog boxes, Orbital Shark had described the following procedure (from his 01 Nov., '10 post-) How to Clear This Dialog Box ? :

"If you want to selectively clear the Common Dialog file names MRU, you need to delete these two registry keys manually:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ ComDlg32 \ LastVisitedPidlMRU

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ ComDlg32 \ OpenSavePidlMRU"

My question is as follows (and it is probably a silly one, therefore please bear with me and thank you):

Is the prescribed procedure to delete the *actual keys* ("LastVisitedPidlMRU" & "OpenSavePidlMRU"), or instead to delete the *contents* of those keys? i.e.: Should I select/highlight the key within the left panel of the Regisgtry Editor, and then select delete; or should I select/highlight the key within the left panel, and then select/highlight in the right panel all the contents of that respective key, and then delete all those contents (not the actual key itself) indicated in the right panel?

Thanks much for your patience and for your help! Win

Brink said:

Hello Windough, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Deleting those actual keys would work best...

...Hope this helps,

Shawn

Thank you for your answer, Shawn :). So that I better understand the underlying process, if I go ahead and delete the actual keys in the registry, but I do *not* modify the *ongoing* group policies [via the Local Group Policy Editor], will the keys (both of them) simply be restored to the registry the next time that I either save and/or open any file?

Thanks again! Win