Why are dot underscore ._ files created, and how can I avoid them?
Solution 1:
You can't avoid them (but see the dot_clean answer by Saeid Zebardast --they can be removed from a directory if that is what you need). They're created to store file information that would otherwise go into an extended attribute on HFS+ (Apple native) or Unix/UFS volumes; in earlier Mac OS this would be the resource fork. Finder file operations will create them automatically to store the icon information, plus Time Machine stores some information in them so if you copy a file backed up via TM it will have that information copied as well.
(This is nothing new; I've noticed that XP and later leave various turds around as well, although not quite as many.)
Solution 2:
You can use dot_clean command to remove or merge the ._ files:
dot_clean PATH_OF_FOLDER_OR_DRIVE
If you move files to linux, or have Git Bash on your PC, and have access to the find command, you might also be able to do this:
find . -type f -name '._*' -delete
And they're gone!
Solution 3:
Purposes of .DS_Store and ._ files
http://diigo.com/0qiwp for an annotated view of http://lists.apple.com/archives/applescript-users/2006/Jun/msg00180.html where Matt Deatherage (a former engineer at Apple) offers explanations. Also arnotify » On the origins of .DS_Store (2006-10-01).
Since I have seen loss of user data (document content) where ._ counterparts are prevented or lost, I agree that it's:
- not acceptable to have things "vanish into the ether".
Purposes of ._ files
In addition to the purposes outlined in geekosaur's accepted answer, here are a few examples of how Apple and third party apps either use or require ._ in some situations …
File business during a copy by Finder
See my answer to a question on Stack Overflow.
NeoOffice use of deprecated codes
HFS type code NO%F without a creator code is:
- used considerately, only where appropriate.
NeoOffice example 1
NeoOffice 3.2.1 Patch 5 save to JHFS+:
[macbookpro08-centrim:~] gjp22% xattr -l /Users/gjp22/Desktop/product\ of\ NeoOffice\ 3.2.1\ Patch\ 5.docx
com.apple.FinderInfo:
00000000 4E 4F 25 46 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |NO%F............|
00000010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
00000020
NeoOffice example 2
NeoOffice 3.2.1 Patch 5 save to a USB flash drive with MS-DOS FAT32, cleaning by BlueHarvest:
2012-05-12 06:42:08.349 BlueHarvest[31146]: Deleted ._product of NeoOffice 3.2.1 Patch 5.docx in /Volumes/FAT32/example.
NeoOffice example 3
NeoOffice 3.2.1 Patch 5 save to a volume mounted by OS X with file system type webdav, not SharePoint, cleaning by BlueHarvest:
[macbookpro08-centrim:~] gjp22% mount | grep dav
https://www.box.net/dav/ on /Volumes/dav (webdav, nodev, noexec, nosuid, mounted by gjp22)
[macbookpro08-centrim:~] gjp22% xattr -l /Volumes/dav/product\ of\ NeoOffice\ 3.2.1\ Patch\ 5.docx
[macbookpro08-centrim:~] gjp22%
- the save by NeoOffice to the
webdavfile system did not involve an extended attribute - BlueHarvest was not required.
Hint: where Microsoft Office fails with webdav to save to Microsoft SharePoint (see below), NeoOffice succeeds.
Microsoft use of deprecated codes
The most recent version of Office requires an HFS type code and HFS creator code when a format such as Microsoft Word (.docx) is chosen. So — it seems that when saving to a file system that does not support those values in a com.apple.FinderInfo extended attribute:
- Microsoft Office can not save reliably without creating multiple
._files.
Microsoft example 1
Word 2011 14.2.1 save to a volume mounted by OS X with file system type webdav, not SharePoint, cleaning by BlueHarvest:
May 11 18:32:49 macbookpro08 BlueHarvest[14649]: BlueHarvest started.
May 11 18:38:37 macbookpro08 BlueHarvest[14649]: Deleted ._Word Work File D_1.tmp in /Volumes/dav.
May 11 18:39:57 macbookpro08 BlueHarvest[14649]: Deleted ._Hello world, this is Microsoft.docx in /Volumes/dav.
May 11 18:42:28 macbookpro08 BlueHarvest[14649]: Deleted ._Hello world, this is Microsoft.docx in /Volumes/dav.
Microsoft example 2
Word 2011 14.2.2 (120421) saving example.docx in the same environment:
2012-05-12 08:01:07.692 BlueHarvest[41131]: Deleted ._Word Work File D_769960778.tmp in /Volumes/dav.
Microsoft example 3
Word 2011 14.2.2 (120421) saving another.docx in the same environment, quitting then reopening, editing then saving, editing then closing and saving:
2012-05-12 08:15:04.252 BlueHarvest[41131]: Deleted ._Word Work File D_.tmp in /Volumes/dav.
2012-05-12 08:18:48.735 BlueHarvest[41131]: Deleted ._another.docx in /Volumes/dav.
2012-05-12 08:21:12.658 BlueHarvest[41131]: Deleted ._Word Work File D_2.tmp in /Volumes/dav.
Hint: Microsoft Office 2011 fails to save to Microsoft SharePoint when the file system type is webdav because SharePoint does not support file names beginning with a dot . (period). See Ask Different answers to Is it possible to mount SharePoint as a volume in 10.6?
Type and creator codes: background, Apple Developer
Apple began encouraging third party developers away from type codes and creator codes more than a decade ago. In Appendix B of the File System Programming Guide, File Types and Creator Codes advises that the codes are:
generally deprecated, you may see them in legacy files and apps and in some places in the system.
Solution 4:
These files are created by the operating system to speed up searches, store metadata (data used by the OS) about a folder preferences, etc. Windows and OS X both have these kinds of files. Following, is a description of these files pulled from http://annoying-file-be-gone.snack.ws/faq.html:
.DS_Store – The name of a file in the Apple OS X operating system for storing custom attributes of a folder such as the position of icons or the choice of a background image (Read more)
.Spotlight-V100 – This file holds information to speed up the 'Spotlight Search' feature. Deleting would simply force this information to be re-indexed if you performed another Spotlight Search for an item in this folder.
.apDisk – This file holds information about shared folders and can be safely removed as it will be automatically re-created if Apple needs it.
.VolumeIcon.icns – This file is used to store the icon of the volume (USB device) if the volume uses a custom icon and not the default icon. If you want the device to continue using this default icon, or if the folder/device you want to clean contains an application, you might want to keep this file in your system. As a side note, if you wanted to create a custom icon for your device you could create/download an .icns file and rename it .VolumeIcon.icns and place in your folder/device.
.fseventsd – This file is used as a buffer for the File System Events daemon. If you are using a program that is monitoring this folder/device, this file might be used to store temporary data.
.Trash & .Trashes – These folders are used to hold deleted items the same way that the 'Trash' icon from the dock works. If you don't need this feature on your folder/device, you can clean this folder to save space.
.TemporaryItems – This file is used by the OS to hold temporary data when files are being copied/moved/appended. If you are running any programs that are accessing the folder/device you want to clean, and you aren't copying or moving any files, then this file can simply hold old data for caching.