Unusual MS Word files

Y

yd2000

Lately it seems whenever I have an MS word file open for so long it saves
several copies of a file and the first two letters of the original file name
are replaced with the symbols ~$. The file icon is faded and when I click to
open it one I receive an alert box that reads, "Microsoft Word needs a
converter to display this file correctly. This feature is not currently
installed. Would you like to install it now?"
What are these mystery files, how do I stop the program from saving them,
and is it safe to delete them? Any help would be appreciated.
 
G

garfield-n-odie [MVP]

The ~$ file is Word's temporary owner file, and it is normal for
Word to create one of these for each Word file that you have
open. Word should automatically delete these temporary files
when you close the related Word document, except when your user
profile doesn't have 'delete' rights or when Word doesn't shut
down normally. See http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=211632
"Description of how Word creates temporary files" for more
information.
 
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