KNOWLEDGEBASE - ARTICLE #136
Temporary files created by GraphPad Prism
Prism, like many other programs, creates some temporary files while it works. When Prism quits, it deletes any temporary files it created. But if Prism does not quit properly, those files may remain on your hard disk.
Windows
The location of temporary files depends on which version of Windows you use:
- Windows 95 and 98: C:\Windows\Temp
- NT4: C:\WinNT\Temp
- Windows XP: C:\Users\[user]\Local Settings\Temp\
- Windows Vista, 7,8 and 10: C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Temp\
Temporary files created by Prism:
- ~pz*.tmp (created while opening PZFX file)
- pzb*.pzb and pzb*.pzb2 (autobackup files)
- tmpexprt.$$$ (while exporting graphs or layouts)
Mac
Prism Mac creates temporary files inside a system-defined, per-user, hidden temporary directory. Example: /var/folders/lq/_zgk27_d4g3_wtys4ny9yl100000gn/T/
Prism creates temporary files when:
Prism creates temporary files when:
- Sharing sheet(s), family or project via sharing services;
- Downloading/uploading Prism files (attachments) from/to LabArchives;
- Downloading Prism updates;
- Running Prism scripts;
- Restoring projects (on launch) that were created by the user but never saved or edited.
In most cases, Prism deletes temporary files as soon as it has finished working with them. If the files are not deleted by Prism, MacOS purges them on startup.