Windows 7 explorer address bar - recent locations

You can click the down arrow on the address bar, then click the down arrow in History to expand. this will show URLs that you've visited. Unless you have your computer set to automatically delete history.

For recent files, folders etc ... click on the start orb, then click on recent places.

First, I just want to make sure we're talking about Windows Explorer, not Internet Explorer. When I click any of the arrows(there are actually 3 different triangles to choose from - one just before the address bar, one just on the left inside of the bar, and one at the right end of the bar.) I get a choice of Libraries, recycle bin, control panel etc., but no url or file history.

If there is a setting to automatically delete or not delete windows explorer history, please tell me where thats at, as maybe that will solve it.

Using recent places under the start orb does not help for what I am trying to achieve. For example, I may want to insert a file into email in outlook, this opens explorer and then I used to be able to browse through the recent locations/files from the address bar in Vista that I was just working on and click directly on the file I was just working on, rather than navigating to it all over again.

I just wanted to add, that I do see the "recent places" option from within Windows Explorer.....but this only shows recently visted FOLDERS - not FILES. (anyone out there who see's files - please let me know)

Unless someone tells me differently - it looks like Windows 7 does NOT display recent FILES (not FOLDERS) through explorer. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I was looking for the same thing because I was using the recent items in XP as my short cut for everything.
I found this today in another forum:

Recent Items is stored in the hidden system folder Recent Items located at:
C:\Users\(User Name)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items

Here is the tutorial: see the "note":
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2013-recent-items-turn-off.html

Once I showed the hidden forlders and then added that folder to my locations for document libraries, I was able at least have it included in windows explorer. However, I still cannot get the following to work as it did in XP:
Inserting a file in outlook and clicking on the link to the "recent items" folder and I am told that I "don't have permission to open this file" (but I can use that folder through windows explorer).
Also in Word and Excel when I want to open a file through that menu, the recent items folder does not show up.