by Admin » Thu Dec 04, 2025 11:42 pm
No issue displaying files starting with ~ , but BRU will show the same files as Windows File Explorer does.
If Windows File Explorer is set not to show hidden files / folders or temp files, then BRU will also not show them.
Those ~ / ~$ files can come from Excel and Word, and they’re usually hidden-ish “helper” files, not your real documents.
On Windows, Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, etc.) creates a few kinds of temporary/lock files:
~$MyFile.xlsx or ~$MyDoc.docx
These are lock files created when you open a document.
They’re used to:
Indicate the file is currently open.
Help prevent two people editing the same file at once on a shared drive.
When you close the document cleanly, they should disappear.
~WRLxxxx.tmp, ~DFxxxx.tmp and similar
These are temporary working files used internally by Word/Excel while saving/editing.
They may appear in the same folder as your document, or in a temp folder.
Are they hidden?
Many of these files have the Hidden and/or System attribute set.
Or live in hidden temp folders.
In File Explorer default view:
You will often not see them unless:
“Hidden items” is turned on, and/or
“Hide protected operating system files” is turned off.
But:
Some ~$ files (especially on network drives or if attributes aren’t set) do show up in Explorer as normal files, just with funny names.
So:
Are they hidden?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no – but they’re always meant to be “behind the scenes” helper files, not ones you open directly.