Is it adviseable to remove files that begin with tilde (~)

Over the years my computer has accumulated or saved hundreds of files that begin with a tilde (the ~ symbol or ~$). Many have a .tmp suffix.

• What are they there for?
• are they useful?
• What is the risk of removing/deleting them?
• What else should I know about them?

idgat said:

Simple answer, if you don't specifically use the tilde symbol in your file naming convention, then yes, delete them

Usually of minimal file size, and quite often the left-over temp file created when some files are opened ..... Windows is supposed to delete them when the main file is closed but it's not always perfect. Consequently if a file is open you won't be able to delete the tilde copy.

Unfortunately they're not the sort of temporary file you can use to recover data if the main file is lost/damage, in effect they're totally system related and utterly useless for anything else.

Chances are, if you're seeing these files, these you've got the options to reveal hidden files and reveal systems files turned on in Windows Explorer. Most users don't see these ~ leftovers because these options are turned off by default.

Thanks. I've moved most of the files to a separate folder so that I don't need to continually see and move around them. As mentioned, they're generally very small. But trying to move many .tmp files invokes a message that some programs may not work properly without them. Probably only a generic windows message so I'll delete them anyway unless cautioned by one of you gurus.

Those are temporary Word save files. If they're too old, then it's likely they're not linked to recent documents you've opened or edited. Even if you could inspect the file contents, you would probably be confused since it's been years since you last thought about them.

Ha. Re: "you would probably be confused". You've got that right. But I'm becoming more enlightened.

thanks for your help!