Is there any way I can delete file names (and/or not have them recorded in the first place) from Word and Paint?

What I am referring to is when you open up your Paint or Word application an then click on "Open" and you get a "File Name" drop-down menu that has a lot of names of FILES previously opened in a given application or applications.

I have tried to highlight a given file name and then hit the "Delete" KEY, but that doesn't WORK. I have tried to right-click a file, but no options appear.
Is there any way I can delete file names (and/or not have them recorded in the first place) from Word and Paint?

What I am referring to is when you open up your Paint or Word application an then click on "Open" and you get a "File Name" drop-down menu that has a lot of names of files previously opened in a given application or applications.

I have tried to highlight a given file name and then hit the "Delete" key, but that doesn't work. I have tried to right-click a file, but no options appear.

(This is an XP machine).
POSSIBLE help here for word.

http://helpdeskgeek.com/office-tips/how-to-clear-recently-used-file-list-in-word/In Word, there is an option to set the number of recently viewed files to 0 (ZERO). What version are you running?
Please don't post the same question more than once. Topics merged.