How to Disable ‘Pick Up Where You Left Off’ in Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is packed with enabled-by-default features, like “pick up where you left off.” Some people find this feature useful, but others…not so much. If you’re willing to make a couple of quick changes to the Registry, you can disable this feature.
As the name implies, “pick up where you left off” brings you to the point you were at in a document when you last closed it. So, if you were on page 32 of your Word document when you exited the program, the next time you open it, you’ll be back on page 32—with your insertion point at the same location, too.
Microsoft didn’t provide a simple solution to disable this feature directly within the Office suite, though. If you want to disable this function, you have to do so in the Registry.
Standard Warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. That said, if you’ve never worked with it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor before you get started. And definitely back up the Registry (and your computer!) before making changes.
First, press the Windows Key + R to open the “Run” window. Next, type Regedt32.exe and select “OK.”
This opens your Registry Editor Utility. Now, navigate to the following file path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Word\Reading Locations