What Type of File Is .tmp?
At the end of every file name--following the period--is an extension. One such fairly common extension is .tmp, which stands for temporary. This most accurately describes .tmp, as it is a file type that is used short term and has no significance to a computer's actual operating system.
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Function
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A file ending in .tmp is a type of file that is used as a temporary solution. This most often occurs in the installation of a program. These temporary files will be created and stored until the program has completely installed all of its applications.
Information Storage
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Files such as these are used to store things in programs before the information has been properly saved. For example, if you are writing something in Microsoft Word, it will be saved on the computer as a .tmp file until it is manually saved with a name and a .doc extension. While most .tmp files cannot actually be opened, a .tmp file created for a Word document can usually be opened in that program.
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Effects
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A .tmp file type has no effect on the running of a software program once it is installed. It is only during installation that some applications use the temporary files to keep from overloading the memory of an operating system.
Operating System
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Files with the .tmp extension can be found in Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems. Some installation programs will automatically delete .tmp files when finished, while others leave them on the computer until they are manually deleted.
Warning
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While .tmp files can do no damage to a computer, there have been memory resident viruses created with that extension. There are also occasionally .tmp files that are still being used by a system that hasn't completed installation. Do not open or delete a file with a .tmp extension before clarifying where the file came from and what it does.
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