Lee, I tried using your terminal method to delete these files but it didn't work. Here's the strange thing: These two files, which are named "F07B5000" and "30526000," do not show up among the Desktop files when I use the "ls -al" command. I tried to delete them anyway, using the "sudo rm -rf … " command, but they still show up on my Desktop.
Also, when I try to do a "Get Info" on these files, nothing happens. They seem to be ghost files. Their icons display as ".xls" files. They were created as temporary files between the time I issued the "Save" command (in Excel) and the actual filename of the saved file appeared. I've seen this creation of a temporary file during an Excel save before, but in all other instances the temporary file (or filename) disappeared when the real filename appeared. This time the "temporary" files/filename did not disappear, although the original file was saved by the correct name. I will note that the save process went very slowly during these saves and I got the spinning beachball for a considerable time before the save was completed. Any other ideas? Thanks, Dan > On Dec 19, 2011, at 1:19 PM, Dan Crutcher wrote: > >> I have two files on my Desktop that will not let me delete them. They are >> temporary-file leave-behinds from MS Word. I have no idea why they were not >> erased as soon as the actual file was saved. When I try to put them in the >> trash I get the message "The item (filename) can't be moved to the Trash >> because it can't be deleted." > > There's a utility I've seen used called Graveyard. (I've never used it.) The > surest way to do this is in the (dreaded) terminal. Here's how. > > First, open your terminal and go to your desktop: > > cd /Users/your_login_name/Desktop > > Take a look at what's there: > > ls -al > > Delete what's not supposed to be there: > > sudo rm -rf filename > > You can delete anything in this way. > > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.math.louisville.edu/mailman/listinfo/macgroup
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