# Disappearing folders



## pyron81 (Nov 30, 2005)

I was working with a folder yesterday and now when I go into the file it's gone. I was trying to figure out whether or not it got moved by accent by its not showing up on search. Could it been hidden? I double clicked it and now its gone?

Suggestions?

Running Mac ox 10.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

was there a period(.) in the folder name?


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## pyron81 (Nov 30, 2005)

*Folder name*

No there was not a period in the folder name. Lucky we have backup but what could cause a folder to disappear?


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

if there was a period in the name, the finder might think it was a unix folder, and then hide it. i would download tinkertool and use it to show hidden folders and files and see if your wayward folder shows up. if not, then run disk first aid, asap. it could be your file table is messed up, and the callout for the folder didn't get marked right, and there could be more troble in the future.


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## pyron81 (Nov 30, 2005)

*Thanks for the advice*

Thanks for the advice I thought it was extremely strange also. Apparently the folder is on a server drive and the server decided to hide the folder. According to the person in the office this only happens if it is deleted but I know for sure I didn't delete it. I double clicked it and it disppeared?

Does mac have any unusual things like if a folders name ends up with nothing in it, it suddenly disappears? Kinda like when your holding the mouse on it too long and the rename comes up.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

if it was on a server, then you lost the folder because the server disconnected you. the finder left it visible until you clicked on it. then the finder refreshed the info, saw that there was no longer a connection to the server, and removed the folder.


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## pat13nce (Jan 20, 2006)

*Somewhat similar issue*

Sinclair,

I work on a network.

Saved files on our shared server.

Files that a co-worker and myself were using disappeared on us.

But when we went onto another MAC and looked it showed up for them.

Do you know why something like this would happen?


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

what happens when you disconnect and then reconnect on your mac? and are both you and your co-worker trying to open/use the folder at the same time?


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## shuuhen (Sep 4, 2004)

That depends a lot on what the network is set up like. A likely cause is permissions. Network disconnects are also very possible for many reasons. Was the other Mac logged in with a different username?


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## pat13nce (Jan 20, 2006)

We all have our own user names. I have started reading a book on UNIX. I believe a lot of our in-house issue may start with the file naming convention. Seeing how they name files. Would make a UNIX person just walk away........ */() you name it they use it. the only thing I use is a • do you know if this effects anything in the UNIX enviroment?


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

i'm not all up on the nit-picks of unix, perhaps shuuhen would be better at this question, but from what i've figured in my own reading, anything other then a to z and 0 to 9 has the potential to cause problems for users. there are somethings that can not be used in nameing, but i don't know them off the top of my head.


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## shuuhen (Sep 4, 2004)

It's a good idea to avoid using any special characters in file names. There are some that are ok and even often used, such as periods '.' and dashes '-'. Occasionally I see underscores '_' in things like scripts.

It's good to avoid : \ and / because various operating systems use those to separate files, directories, etc. in path names. * ? ! $ [ ] { } < > | = & and probably more I'm probably forgetting right now are used as wildcards and other special purpose characters. There are ways Unix-like systems can handle special characters, so some could work fine, but most probably will create "interesting" situations.

I've had to access folders on drives that were used by other operating systems from Linux, but there was no way for me to put the folder in the path name. Some of the characters were specific to that OS's keymaps, so I couldn't even list the name properly.

One file I looked at recently was named ???T+???Epoch. I know for a fact that the real name of the file is different, but the only way I can put that into a pathname (for listing or something like that on the command line) is with a wildcard such as *.


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## pat13nce (Jan 20, 2006)

*???*

I have some files that were showing up with ??? all over the place. These files used to begin with * from a previous user on the network. I was told by our IT to use a bullet instead. Which created the ???? that others were seen but I wasn't. I am putting a naming convension into place for the company. I have noted out of the UNIX book I am reading for Mac OS X. But any other info is greatly appreaciated.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

i'd say just stick w/letters and numbers. i know os x doesn't like periods (.) at the beginning of file names because that is how os x tells system files from others. other then that, i use dashes (-) and underscores (_) but nothing else, and i've never had a problem in mac oses, windows, or msdos.


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## pat13nce (Jan 20, 2006)

Great thanks.


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