Thanks Willi2, but definitely there is something veeeeery unclear.
I removed the \, as suggested (using manual edit), but the \ disappears in the folder name in the exclude section ("files and folders to exclude"), but remains in the name "exclude drive or folder" in the "add panel" popping out whenn you double click on the name: BUT the name here is c:\....\microsoft\, without "recent", and in addition, in the "file type" box, "recent" is displayed, which does not make any sense.
So I tried to edit the name inserting (like in your example) "c:\.....\microsoft\recent|*.*". Nothing much seems to change; the name in the "add panel" remains the same (ending in \microsoft\) and in the file type box "recent|*.*" appears.
In any case, running ccleaner, the directory contents is wiped out.
I believe I am really missing something elementary, because the lolgic seems straighforward: exclude THAT folder from the clean process. So, why is this so difficult for me?
Thanks,
Robert
PS I forgot: the folder is NEVER listed in the analyze list (and in the deleted list).