files

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'

Rudy Kube wrote:

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?

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.

John Eric Volt>