[zzzth]

i can't find the meaning of ~.rtfd file extensions in my mac's textedit program. there will be several files with the same name, maybe different file lengths, distinguished from one another by one or more tildes (~) as in: filename~.rtfd, filename~~.rtfd and so on. i know what rtf means but not rtfd
thanks much, t

[Yankee Rose]

Hi zzzth - welcome to TSG.

.rtfd stands for Rich Text Format Directory File.

They are similar to .rtf (Rich Text Format) file document, but may contain attachments, such as images, .pdfs, fonts, etc.

This extension was originally developed for the NeXT operating system and later moved to Mac OS X.

Hope that helps!

[zzzth]

thanks, that helps. also, i was wondering what the tilde's mean. thanks, t

[Yankee Rose]

Those ~ files act as "copies" of other files you have in the folder. You'll see them a lot of times if you dual-boot with Windows/OS X.

Hope that helps!

[zzzth]

thanks YR! that's what i needed to know. does this sound reasonable? i think that what's happening then is: my textedit documents remain visible in each of my mac's "spaces"--don't know why (could you tell me?). and i think when i install updates to the software that require the computer to restart somehow not all the textedit documents get gracefully dismissed; then the computer panics and saves ~. emergency backup files. i guess i can just delete them as long as i don't edit them--but as it is, some of the tilde files are larger than their original counterparts. i must have added to those editing the originals by mistake. sound reasonable?perhaps i can just proceed with the larger files and rename them. thanks again, not only for the help but for your watchful presence, very reassuring to us beginners. t

[Yankee Rose]

Hello zzzth -

Here is a good explanation of the ~ files and why they exist.

[zzzth]

thanks much YR. you have answered my question perfectly and i really appreciate the service. it's as though in the midst of my struggling to master my computer i learned that a friendly OSX expert just moved in next door. t

how do i thank the site managers?

[Yankee Rose]

zzzth - Thanking me here is plenty; I'm happy to help.

If you would like to mark this thread as "Solved", just click the "Thread Tools" link (to the right above your first post) and choose "Mark as Solved". That helps future users who may be searching the forums for similar questions.

Take care and enjoy OS X.