What are ~$ files that appear on desktop when hidden files show

[DubaiHat]

Hello All,

I would like to remove the 30 or so files that are now showing on my desktop since selecting to "Show Hidden files"

They are all old excel and word documents but not sure if removing them would cause an issue

What are they/how are they created?

I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium x64 and Office 2007

Thanks!

 

[seavixen32]

As far as I'm aware they are desktop .ini files that are written to the desktop whenever you make a change to the file so that the file/folder remembers the change.

If you delete the .ini file it will return to its default settings.

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001060.htm

Is there any particular reason why you want to show hidden files? Obviously, they are hidden for a good reason.

Try this workaround if you insist on showing hidden files:

Enable Show hidden files, folders and drives but make sure that Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) is checked.

This will keep the desktop.ini hidden while showing other hidden files.

 

[Dwarf]

These files are automatically created by MS Office programs when you open an existing file. They are, in essence, a copy of the file whose sole purpose is to provide a means of recovering data should your system crash or otherwise fail whilst you have the file open. Normally, when you have finished working on the file and have closed the application (and chosen to save changes), the new copy is saved and this temporary copy is deleted. If, however, you choose to close the application but not save changes, then the temporary copy is used to recreate the document in its original state. Either way, these temporary files should disappear when the host application is closed.

 

[jcgriff2]

Yes, the ~$ files can be deleted.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/211632/en-us

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

 

[DubaiHat]

Thanks Seavixen32 & Dwarf (& jcgriff2)

Based on your answers can I assume it is safe to delete these files? (Only the Word & Excel ones)

 

[seavixen32]

Thanks Seavixen32 & Dwarf (& jcgriff2)

Based on your answers can I assume it is safe to delete these files? (Only the Word & Excel ones)

You can delete them, but they will appear again as you produce fresh documents.

Did you read my post that explains how to hide them whilst showing hidden files at the same time?

 

[Dugan23]

You can delete them, but they will appear again as you produce fresh documents.

Did you read my post that explains how to hide them whilst showing hidden files at the same time?

@seavixen32: These files will NOT reproduce themselves automatically. They are NOT .ini files. Given the description, especially the large number of them, these files are exactly as Dwarf and jcgriff2 described them. They are leftover temporary MS Word files used for saving and recovery while working on a document. Like Dwarf said, MS Word should delete them when you close MS Word but there are several situations that cause them to remain. The two most common are when you run out of temporary memory (RAM) causing Word to save these temporary files (when this happens you usually see a pop-up alerting you that your computer is increasing its "virtual memory"), and when your battery dies/computer crashes without properly shutting down Word. Either way, as long as the files end in .doc or .TMP feel free to delete them and they wont return.

 

[PCDoctorMartin]

Just a thought; before deleting any temporary files, make sure you don't have any documents open - on shared drives and other accounts, either.