In discussions of the new versions of iWork apps, some folks note that the new versions do not inherit the Recent Items list from the old apps. I hardly ever consult that list, and I thought it might be useful to mention the alternative way I start apps to work on recent files.
I rarely start working on a file by opening an app. Instead, when I want to modify an existing document or use it as a template for a new one, I start with Finder > Go > Recent Folders. If I’m lucky, the folder containing the document I want is in the list; if not, the parent or other closely related folder usually is. I navigate the folder hierarchy to my desired folder. I should note that I have the List format as my default Finder window format. So, I sort the folder list by an appropriate field to make it easy to find the document, and either double-click it to open it in its default app or control-click it to bring up the ‘Open with…’ menu.
This method works well when you have made an effort to organize your folder structure in a way that makes sense to you, with folders that either contain tens of files rather than hundreds, or, if they contain hundreds, have a clear structure.