TMP files – How to turn OFF! (Word97 SP2 – Win98se)

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Greetings Fellow WOWsers,
I have un-checked every box on the Save tab of the Options dialog in MS Word97 to no avail. How do I make Word stop creating these confounded .tmp files every time I hit Cntrl+S. By the time I get through with a document there are 30 of these files. I don’t need these taking up memory. Thanks in advance!

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You cannot.
Those files must be created and are automatically deleted if your Word documents close normally.

Something is causing Word to not close properly.

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Thanks Howard.
Is there a way to tell Word to create those files in my C:temp folder instead of the Explorer folder I’m currently working in?
I’m comfortable editing in the registry if you know a modification there.

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Nope.

The files are associated with each doc.
One purpose is to let Word know whether a doc is being used.

You really should try to find out WHY the files are being left behind.
Something is causing Word to not close properly.
If Word closes properly, these files go away on their own.

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Hi David:
Even if you could, you shouldn’t. Among other things, Word creates a temp file which contains changes (edits) to a document, sort of like having different versions of the document. When you save the document, Word renames the temp file to your document name & deletes the original. If they are in different folders, the process is slower.

To quote from Microsoft (I can’t find the URL, sorry!):
“Word gains significant performance speed by placing the temporary file in the same directory as the saved file. If Word placed the temporary file elsewhere, it would have to use the MS-DOS COPY command to move the temporary file from the other directory to the saved location. By leaving the temporary file in the same directory as the saved document file, Word can use the MS-DOS MOVE command to quickly designate the temporary file as the saved document.”

Cheers,

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Thanks All.

I wasn’t clear about the TMP files in my first post. They aren’t being left behind – I just don’t like them cluttering up the Explorer pane I’m working in. When I’m finished they all go away like they should. My customary way of working with multiple files is to work out of an Explorer folder- sub-folder-tree view. Thanks for the comments. I guess I’ll just have to live with it.

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It’s a terrible trade-off: if you turn off the viewing of “hidden” files you are blissfully unaware of how messy Word is…but then you can’t find things you want to find. Too bad you can’t turn it off only for certain folders…

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Hi David:
Here’s one thing that you can do so the temp files won’t “mess up” your folder, if you work with only a few folders, with many files in each.
1. Create a new folder that’s easily accessible, one for each folder you regularly work with. I put mine in the Quick Launch folder, & have the Quick Launch folder on my taskbar.
2. Give the new subfolder the same name as the folder you work with. e.g. if you have a Current folder you work in C:My Documents, name the folder in Quick Launch “Current” also.
3. Open the new Quick Launch subfolder & open the folder you work with.
4. Select all the files in your old folder & RIGHT click & drag them to the new folder. When the menu opens, choose create shortcut.

You will now have a folder with shortcuts to all your files in the original folders. You can leave it open & start files from there. However, because it only contains shortcuts, all the temp files will be created in the original folder, leaving your shortcut folder neat.

Hope this helps.

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Very interesting work around.
Now all I need is a batch file which will refresh this folder(s) with the current directory listing.
Another way to avoid working on the documents themselves!

Thanks.

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Hi David:
If you do come up with a batch file, please let me know.
Cheers,

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