Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Eureka! How to delete/remove ~WRLxxxx.tmp/~WRL files in MS Word
First the answer, then the evidence and explanation. I'm using Word 2002, but
I expect this will work for at least some other versions. Answer: To get rid of ~WRLxxxx.tmp files, delete Word's Undo history, execute the following in Word VBA ActiveDocument.UndoClear (repeat as necessary for open documents) and voila! All annoying files disappear! WARNING: obviously you have no undo history after doing this, so be sure you know what you are doing. Explanation: the kb article is wrong (I was previously more charitable, suggesting it was "at best unclear" and only "at worst" actually wrong). Problem causing the investigation: document directory filling up with these ..tmp files (why that's a problem for me is irrelevant). Evidence: The knowledgebase kb says ~WRL is for "clipboard" material this might also be true but it is misleadingly incomplete. [I did understand that if the source file is closed, the WRL may be a copy of the whole source because the clipboard claims to reference data, not hold it... but since I am not copying and pasting between documents (only within or from another non-MS app, particularly the Oxford English Dictionary), ~WRL files should not be appearing for me according to the stated paradigm.] With one document open and a number of ~WRL files lurking, I cleared the clipboard (the clip pane showed 1 item whilst claiming "1 of 24", eh?); the files were not released or deleted. I did a proper test after closing this document, re-opening one and doing some copying and pasting; no new ~WRL file appeared. All possibly inconclusive... but wait! I have created my own "improved" autosave functionality in VBA, which works for files in designated locations by doing two consecutive saves and renaming the .wbk file to an archive name (there is no SaveCopyAs functionality in Word as there is in Excel, so this is a workaround). With the clipboard empty, I made a trivial change, ran my autosave and hey presto! a ~WRL appeared. This further contradicts the idea it's anything to do with the clipboard because it was empty. I then tried significantly expanding the file, from 5040 to 5085kB (remember these figures!), by repeatedly copying and pasting random text. I then cleared the clipboard and ran my autosave again and a new ~WRL file of 5040kB appeared, i.e. *the size of the file before the 1st save*. I then removed the 45kb insertion by deleting it and ran the custom autosave, after which there was yet another new .tmp file of size *5085kB*. Clue! Inspired by this, inferring that the ~WRL file is a copy of the document from which changes can be undone by reference, I executed ActiveDocument.UndoClear and all the ~WRL files disappeared. Since this has been a bane for so many people (I think MVP Suzanne Barnhill has corresponded with many!) I hope this will help. Julian ( MrWord 'at' ignorethisbitbutnotthenextword tiger2 'dot' demon 'dot' co 'dot' uk) |
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Eureka! How to delete/remove ~WRLxxxx.tmp/~WRL files in MS Word
That is indeed interesting. It has long bothered me that those files so
obviously had nothing to do with the Clipboard as far as I could see. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Julian" wrote in message ... First the answer, then the evidence and explanation. I'm using Word 2002, but I expect this will work for at least some other versions. Answer: To get rid of ~WRLxxxx.tmp files, delete Word's Undo history, execute the following in Word VBA ActiveDocument.UndoClear (repeat as necessary for open documents) and voila! All annoying files disappear! WARNING: obviously you have no undo history after doing this, so be sure you know what you are doing. Explanation: the kb article is wrong (I was previously more charitable, suggesting it was "at best unclear" and only "at worst" actually wrong). Problem causing the investigation: document directory filling up with these .tmp files (why that's a problem for me is irrelevant). Evidence: The knowledgebase kb says ~WRL is for "clipboard" material this might also be true but it is misleadingly incomplete. [I did understand that if the source file is closed, the WRL may be a copy of the whole source because the clipboard claims to reference data, not hold it... but since I am not copying and pasting between documents (only within or from another non-MS app, particularly the Oxford English Dictionary), ~WRL files should not be appearing for me according to the stated paradigm.] With one document open and a number of ~WRL files lurking, I cleared the clipboard (the clip pane showed 1 item whilst claiming "1 of 24", eh?); the files were not released or deleted. I did a proper test after closing this document, re-opening one and doing some copying and pasting; no new ~WRL file appeared. All possibly inconclusive... but wait! I have created my own "improved" autosave functionality in VBA, which works for files in designated locations by doing two consecutive saves and renaming the .wbk file to an archive name (there is no SaveCopyAs functionality in Word as there is in Excel, so this is a workaround). With the clipboard empty, I made a trivial change, ran my autosave and hey presto! a ~WRL appeared. This further contradicts the idea it's anything to do with the clipboard because it was empty. I then tried significantly expanding the file, from 5040 to 5085kB (remember these figures!), by repeatedly copying and pasting random text. I then cleared the clipboard and ran my autosave again and a new ~WRL file of 5040kB appeared, i.e. *the size of the file before the 1st save*. I then removed the 45kb insertion by deleting it and ran the custom autosave, after which there was yet another new .tmp file of size *5085kB*. Clue! Inspired by this, inferring that the ~WRL file is a copy of the document from which changes can be undone by reference, I executed ActiveDocument.UndoClear and all the ~WRL files disappeared. Since this has been a bane for so many people (I think MVP Suzanne Barnhill has corresponded with many!) I hope this will help. Julian ( MrWord 'at' ignorethisbitbutnotthenextword tiger2 'dot' demon 'dot' co 'dot' uk) |
#3
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Eureka! How to delete/remove ~WRLxxxx.tmp/~WRL files in MS Wor
One clarification - the files may not disappear until the document has been
saved following the UndoClear [And there are some other circumstances in which some may remain: I have seen a new "invisible" winword process appear in the Task Manager process list - perhaps because of the way I use OnTime - and if this process owns the tmp file it may persist... I think. Understanding this rare situation is now a low priority for me; generally UndoClear seems to work well.] "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: That is indeed interesting. It has long bothered me that those files so obviously had nothing to do with the Clipboard as far as I could see. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Julian" wrote in message ... First the answer, then the evidence and explanation. I'm using Word 2002, but I expect this will work for at least some other versions. Answer: To get rid of ~WRLxxxx.tmp files, delete Word's Undo history, execute the following in Word VBA ActiveDocument.UndoClear (repeat as necessary for open documents) and voila! All annoying files disappear! WARNING: obviously you have no undo history after doing this, so be sure you know what you are doing. Explanation: the kb article is wrong (I was previously more charitable, suggesting it was "at best unclear" and only "at worst" actually wrong). Problem causing the investigation: document directory filling up with these .tmp files (why that's a problem for me is irrelevant). Evidence: The knowledgebase kb says ~WRL is for "clipboard" material this might also be true but it is misleadingly incomplete. [I did understand that if the source file is closed, the WRL may be a copy of the whole source because the clipboard claims to reference data, not hold it... but since I am not copying and pasting between documents (only within or from another non-MS app, particularly the Oxford English Dictionary), ~WRL files should not be appearing for me according to the stated paradigm.] With one document open and a number of ~WRL files lurking, I cleared the clipboard (the clip pane showed 1 item whilst claiming "1 of 24", eh?); the files were not released or deleted. I did a proper test after closing this document, re-opening one and doing some copying and pasting; no new ~WRL file appeared. All possibly inconclusive... but wait! I have created my own "improved" autosave functionality in VBA, which works for files in designated locations by doing two consecutive saves and renaming the .wbk file to an archive name (there is no SaveCopyAs functionality in Word as there is in Excel, so this is a workaround). With the clipboard empty, I made a trivial change, ran my autosave and hey presto! a ~WRL appeared. This further contradicts the idea it's anything to do with the clipboard because it was empty. I then tried significantly expanding the file, from 5040 to 5085kB (remember these figures!), by repeatedly copying and pasting random text. I then cleared the clipboard and ran my autosave again and a new ~WRL file of 5040kB appeared, i.e. *the size of the file before the 1st save*. I then removed the 45kb insertion by deleting it and ran the custom autosave, after which there was yet another new .tmp file of size *5085kB*. Clue! Inspired by this, inferring that the ~WRL file is a copy of the document from which changes can be undone by reference, I executed ActiveDocument.UndoClear and all the ~WRL files disappeared. Since this has been a bane for so many people (I think MVP Suzanne Barnhill has corresponded with many!) I hope this will help. Julian ( MrWord 'at' ignorethisbitbutnotthenextword tiger2 'dot' demon 'dot' co 'dot' uk) |
Reply |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Word 97 in Windows XP to maintain formatting | Microsoft Word Help | |||
I am having difficulty with deleting headers and footers | New Users | |||
How do I "reveal codes" in Word the way I could in Word Perfect? | Microsoft Word Help | |||
hard space between words. | Microsoft Word Help | |||
Converting Word Perfect forms to Word forms | Microsoft Word Help |