ghost-like backup files on desktop

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
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G

Guest

Whenever I work on a document for a long period of time I seem to accumulate
dozens of copies of the file, all starting with ~$ and followed by part of
the file name.

I assume these are some sort of back up copies, but they really clutter my
desktop and make switching between applications and documents tricky.

Is there any way of not showing them?

Many thanks

Steve
 
Actually, on further inspection, only the first ghost file starts with ~$ -
all the others are in the format ~WRL followed by a number. The icon in
these cases is not a Word one, but one of those 'undefined' icons.
 
These are temp files and are unavoidable. They will be far less troublesome
if you store your documents somewhere other than on the desktop, which is
really not a good place to store them, anyway. If you want a specific
document to be easily accessible, store it in My Documents (or another
documents folder) and put a shortcut to it on the desktop. You might also
want to check out Word's Work menu; see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/WorkMenu.htm.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
I am new to this group and hope I may joint in this particular discussion.

I have also started to have the problem with "ghost" files - as Steve calls
them. This only started a couple of months ago. I store my documents in a
My Documents folder and when I open one to work on it, I now notice that the
file name is repeated at the beginning of the list of files with a squiggle
in front of it. The squiggle obliterates the first letter or so. This entry
disappears when I close and later reopen Word.

Why has this just started to happen - and how can I stop it?

Hope someone can help.
 
It has only 'started a couple of months ago' if you set Windows Explorer to
display hidden files a couple of months ago. This is intentional behaviour.
These are Word's temporary files. Ignore them or turn off the hidden file
display again. Frankly it is better to know what is being stored on your PC.
See also http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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Graham - Thank you for this information. I must have set Windows Explorer to
display hidden files accidentally and would appreciate knowing how to reverse
the process. Are you able to advise me? Many thanks - Alvis
 
Frankly I would leave the hidden file display active. It makes trouble
shooting simpler, and if temporary files are orphaned through crashes they
can cause all sorts of problems. Better to know they are there.

However, you can turn off the display from Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder
Options > View > uncheck 'show hidden files and folders'

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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