files

What are the files I see in SW with the tilde on front of them? I cant see
them in explorer. Are they backups? Is it safe to delete them?
Rudy

 

I love the easy questions. Those files beginning with a tilde are
temporary SolidWorks files which are created for each file you have open
or loaded fully resolved in an Assembly. Sometimes they get left on the
hard drive when SolidWorks closes with an error, and sometimes
spuriously (seemingly without cause). It's safe to delete them ONLY
when you have SolidWorks closed.

It's not clear whether you can't "see" these files in WINDOWS Explorer
or in SOLIDWORKS Explorer. Either way the reason you can't see them is
because of your Windows Explorer settings. In Windows Explorer, go to
Tools -> Options -> the "View" tab -> choose "Show hidden files and
folders". SolidWorks Explorer uses the same View settings as Windows
Explorer.

'Spork'

 

Don't these temporary files indicate that the file is in use so no other
copies of SolidWorks can write to the file? This is particularly relevant
for files on a network that are used by multiple people.

Can anyone provide a complete explanation of the purpose for these files?

--
- John

John Eric Voltin
Mechanical Engineer
Agile Technology, Inc.

512-633-0394

 

i am using SW 2000, i have hiden files set to view in explorer, the tiled
documents i see are always ones that are opened, if SW does crash, (not as
often a ACAD lol) and i re open SW i get asked if i would like to open the
"auto save file" that was last open, and this is a great bonus when you have
forgotten to save a big design file before a crash. the only other tiled
files i see is in my back up folder, which i delete on a monthly basis to
save disc space.

 

You are correct. They are there so that two users can't write to the same
file at the same time. They can also be used for recovery if needed but
thats not too easy to do. Most Window$ apps use this technique. Sometimes
though they get left on the working drive and it is safe to delete them.
Window$ won't let you delete them if a user has a file open.

Noel

 

I'm sure you're quite right, John, and no doubt I should have mentioned
that one probably DOESN'T want to delete the tilde files on a network
volume unless one is sure that nobody is running SolidWorks. Deleting
LOCAL files is another thing and there should be no danger of problems
with that unless one is sharing files across the network.