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Accepted
George Kastrinis
Asked: 2011-11-27 14:38:22 +0800 CST

Prevent gedit from creating files with the '~' (tilde) suffix

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I have observed that in gedit if I edit a file, another file is created in the same directory (the one with the same filename and a tilde '~' suffix). The extra file remains even if I close gedit.

I understand the need for a temp file (eg. in case of a crash), but vim for example deletes the extra file it creates, when I close it.

Is there a way to do the same with gedit? Some configuration perhaps?

gedit

7 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Those are just backups of your original files that gedit creates before saving changes to your edited documents.

    In gedit preferences you need to disable Create a backup copy of file before saving, and if you want to automatic save your edits automatically set a timer with the option enable Autosave files every X minutes.

    That way the ~ will be gone and your last changes will be saved on the file every x minutes in case something goes bad or your computer crashes.

    enter image description here

    The changes made to the file will be saved to the file itself and not to a temporary file.

    Please be aware that if you delete the contents of a file and auto save is enable there will be a chance that you end up with a saved empty file.

    Always make sure that when you close on file while auto save is enabled that the contents of the file are correct, else undo them and save the file again.

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  2. GEDIT by default has an option enabled which creates a backup file (with the suffix ~ for the backup file) every 10 minutes. You can easily disable this default behavior.

    Go in the gedit menu to Edit > Preferences > Editor, there you will find an option that says Create a backup of files before saving. Uncheck this option and you are done.

    There is another option below that one called autosave files every .. minutes. I mention this one since some people like to have the backup option enabled but prefer to autosave less often, like 30 minutes or 1 hour as opposed to the default 10 minute interval.

    In any case to disable the ~ (tilde) preceded file creation just disable (uncheck) the Create a backup of files before saving

    A view of the Editor options in gedit:

    screenshot of Editor options

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  3. You may be able to turn off these automatic backups by going into Edit > Preferences and unchecking the Create backup copies of files before saving option under the Editor tab:

    Gedit preferences

    Alternatively, you can use a terminal to navigate to the directory where you are saving your files and remove the backup files using rm *~.

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  4. This happens because gedit by default saves backup files.

    Open the preferences and disable this option: enter image description here

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  5. These are backup copies from the original file. You can delete them if you don't need them.

    Most editors have a setting to switch on/off creating those backup files. In gedit (the default editor), you need to switch off "Create a backup copy of files before saving" in the "File saving" section of the "Editor" tab in the "Preferences" dialog.

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  6. For those interested in disabling 'gedit creating a backup file on save' via a command;

    $ gsettings set org.gnome.gedit.preferences.editor create-backup-copy 'false'

    I was looking for this command to integrate into my system setup scripts and hadn't found it mentioned anywhere.

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  7. What are these extra files?

    These are backup files as answered by previous answerer.

    Is it safe to delete them?

    Yes, you can safely delete them, if you are sure that you do not need that particular backup.

    Is it possible to stop them from appearing at all?

    If you are using gedit text editor (default text editor), it can be stopped with the following way:

    • Open gedit text editor.
    • Go to Edit -> Preferences from menu. (It is on the top panel in Ubuntu now, called global menu)
    • Select Editor tab.

    • Uncheck the option Create a backup copy of files before saving.

      screenshot of Editor options

    • Close the Preferences window

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