My files save as "read only" and also very strange, ~$...

I can hardly explain how to ask these questions, but will try my best...

1. I do lots of document saving, where I write a Word page and save to Documents. Something happens in the computer where it saves as "Read Only" which I would never ever ever do. Why would this happen and how can I stop it in the future??

2. When looking at my "Document" folders I often see icons of gears or of yellow "scrolls" (like ancient text scrolls) inside rectangular boxes, and other things that make no sense at all...
Looking right now at some, I see that under some of the yellow scrolls, the so-called document reads, "base 2012076 0 81350"- there are about 5 of these, all with the same name as I look at just this one window- and in opening it this is part of what I see:

body{background:#FFF url(/common/static/img/global-bg.jpg) repeat-x;color:#333;font-family:"Lucida Grande", Geneva, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:12px;margin:0;padding:0;}body.popup{background-image:url(/common/static/img/smallwin-bg.jpg);}#wrapper{margin:0 auto;position:relative;width:950px;}body.popup #wrapper{width:650px;}#moduleHeader,
#content,
body.wide #content,
body.popup #content,
#footer{margin-left:20px;}body.full{padding-left:0;padding-right:0;}

3. Also, at least 1/2 of my documents end up duplicated where I have documents that start with this: ~$(then the name I used to save it.) So far I've been able to find the actual document that I CAN open, but these, I am unable to and don't know how they exist in the first place. Each time I search for a document and see those scribbles (~$) before the words I used in saving them, I go into panic attack mode, worried that my "true" document is lost, never to be found again.

This happens when I am saving for the first time, or at times when I close my document after adding to it or simply reviewing it.

4. I also have "tiny icons" about 1/2 the size of most that appear out of nowhere- example, one that below it reads, "icon-content" and when I try to open it the computer opens a new window that opens Internet Explorer and gives me a popoup that says "a website wants to open web content using this program on your computer" to which I do NOT allow. In the upper left of that window, I see what SHOULD be a document file, but it says (for the example I'm using right now):
C:\Users\Lisa\Videos\MKL Keywords SEED GENERATOR...which is all I can see of that link. I do use a program within the website hosting company I am working with in which I am currently searching for a site concept, and which has something like a Google Keyword Toolbox of its own...and it uses the words MKL and SEED GENERATOR. I would have no reason to save any internet file like that, but I do extract info from my searches and put them into Excel documents. I don't know why I would have all these icons! Totally confusing!

5. Another icon that shows up constantly is a picture of a camera with writing below that states, " icon-picture" and now that I'm thinking of this, I recall many other times that icons just seem to save themselves, e.g. logos of websites I have visited.

I think that this, for one thing is likely taking plenty of space on my computer, and for another thing, I don't know how to stop all this from happening in the future!

Can anyone help me get out of the mess I seem to find myself in? You probably need more information, but I don't know where to begin! I'm NOT computer knowledgeable to any decent extent, so please, if you'll be kind enough to reply to this, reply in layman's terms.

Thanks so much- in advance- for any help you can give to me! (I did manage to save a screenshot into "PAINT" of two library pages that have lots of what I am talking of...I hope the attachment opens here.)

Lisa

Hi BigMK...

I'm sorry it's taken SOOOOO long to write back! I have Norton and it kept trying to log me in under the wrong name/password etc...so I'd try, give up, try again, give up...finally went back to an OLD email sent to me and clicked on it to get in. Long, boring story but really, I do apologize.

I will try to be sure I save the way you suggested. I guess I'll repost the other questions I had and see if anyone can help me with those. I do, very much, appreciate your help with some of this!

Thanks bunches,
Lisa

I posted in your other thread Asked 3 weeks ago- only got partial answer to multiple "Library" ?s. You might want to consolidate to one thread for these.

~$(then the name I used to save it.)

Those files may just be for system use. When you use your program to open one of your files for editing/viewing, a temporary "lock" file associated with the file you've opened gets created, preventing other network users from modifying the same file while you're doing your work. When you close the file the temporary lock file is supposed to get deleted, but there are times it doesn't (program crashes, improper shutdowns, network disconnects, etc.).

If Explorer's View Options are set to display hidden files you'll see these files get created/deleted as you open/close your data files. This setting allows you to see all other sorts of files as well, and may help to explain what you're now seeing.

If another user tries to open a file you've already got opened for editing, it'll let that other user open it, but in a read-only mode.

FliGi7 said:

I posted in your other thread Asked 3 weeks ago- only got partial answer to multiple "Library" ?s. You might want to consolidate to one thread for these.

I hope I'm answering this properly. After receiving no further replies I felt I should start a different thread for the answers I didn't get since it had been 3 weeks. I'm not sure what else you mean by consolidating to one thread. I asked my remaining questions in one thread. Perhaps you could clarify a bit?

Thanks,
Lisa 288

I do hope I'm writing back properly, as it didn't give me an option to reply to you individually that I'm aware of.

F5ing said:

~$(then the name I used to save it.)

Those files may just be for system use. When you use your program to open one of your files for editing/viewing, a temporary "lock" file associated with the file you've opened gets created, preventing other network users from modifying the same file while you're doing your work. When you close the file the temporary lock file is supposed to get deleted, but there are times it doesn't (program crashes, improper shutdowns, network disconnects, etc.).

If Explorer's View Options are set to display hidden files you'll see these files get created/deleted as you open/close your data files. This setting allows you to see all other sorts of files as well, and may help to explain what you're now seeing.

If another user tries to open a file you've already got opened for editing, it'll let that other user open it, but in a read-only mode.

Again, I'm not sure how to reply to you alone. But Will try here. If I get these files in the future may I just delete them? I have Norton backup and it picks up EVERYTHING I place into my Libraries, documents, photos, videos. I don't want to give then the opportunity to raise my rates again because these are being backe up as well as the documents I truly saved.
Also, I don't use Explorer, rather, Google Chrome. And I'd have to be getting hacked, as they say, for another user to be trying to rea my files, am I right? What would you do in my situation?

One last thing, I tend to miss seeing the $~ and waste time trying to open unreadable files. I just want them GONE!

Thank you for helping!
Lisa

mitchell65 said:

Before you post elsewhere, have you ever looked at buiding a website and what is in your folder "Videos"? i ask this as from what you posted I didn't think you were into website building and The reference to "MKL Keywords SEED GENERATOR" puzzles me a bit.

By the way, MKL Keywords SEED GENERATOR are one type of Master Keyword List keyword I use from the company in which I am building my website.

I see now that some of my files are saved under video, though I don't know why. Out of the 20 or so there, I had nothing to do with saving any of them but a few pics, but wouldn't think I'd save them under Videos- I never create videos. Not sure why that is happening. Also, I clicked on a couple of the white pages within those videose and it's asked me to choose the program I wish to use to open them. Everything I save is a document or photo, with but a few exceptions when I downlod a Hubspot e-book or something like that. I don't know why my computer would ask that.
I couldn't find a way to delete that, either.

Thanks again for your help!

Lisaw288

Lisa288 said:

Again, I'm not sure how to reply to you alone. But Will try here.

It's best not bothering to reply to only one individual. Just reply as you've been doing (within this thread) so that others that may be able to help have a chance to do so (and you just might get this issue resolved much more quickly). On top of that there may be others searching the internet for an answer to the same or similar problem, and conversing within the thread allows them to view all of the relevant info.

Lisa288 said:

If I get these files in the future may I just delete them? I have Norton backup and it picks up EVERYTHING I place into my Libraries, documents, photos, videos. I don't want to give then the opportunity to raise my rates again because these are being backe up as well as the documents I truly saved.

I'm not sure how Norton's rates are determined but it may relieve you to know that if these really are the lock files I'm thinking they may be, they are very small in size (about 20 to 30 bytes or so).

Lisa288 said:

Also, I don't use Explorer, rather, Google Chrome. And I'd have to be getting hacked, as they say, for another user to be trying to rea my files, am I right? What would you do in my situation?

I was referring to the Windows Explorer file browser rather than Internet Explorer in that statement I made.

Lisa288 said:

One last thing, I tend to miss seeing the $~ and waste time trying to open unreadable files. I just want them GONE!

Can you post a screenshot of a sample of these files, as well as some of your document files, within a Windows Explorer window?

Lisa288 said:

Thank you for helping!
Lisa

You're very welcome!