I find that DO creates button files in image folders. I'm not sure when it does this, but it's when I have manipulated the file in some way I think.
These are a nuisance, as I have to keep deleting them so they don't mess up my workflow in other programs.
You are not talking about DxO .dop sidecar files, are you?
Yes, that's correct.
Those files probably aren't being created by Opus, and may just use the same file extension.
What is inside them, if you look at them in a text viewer?
What triggers their creation?
I think I may have discovered what is happening.
Previously, I thought they were just very small thumbnails of the actual photo file, but try as I may now, I cannot get anything to confirm that idea. I may have been confusing another program I have.
I have determined they are created when I process RAW files (in my case .CR2) in DXO Photolab. Once I convert the file, a .dop file is created. This is called a Sidecar file by the heading, which I either couldn't or didn't view previously. It is a "text" type file which appears to be a description of the original file - metadata I guess.
If I open it in DXO Photolab, it opens as the photo image.
I'm guessing that probably DXO Photolab is programmed to create this file in File Explorer, but since I am using Directory Opus as the File Explorer replacement, then it becomes a .dop file.
Now I know what they are, I can either find a use for them or keep deleting them as I have been in the past.
Thanks for your interest and assistance.
Cheers.
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Simplifying, a .dop sidecar is a description/set of instructions of non-destructive image processing you have applied to an image. If you later open an image in DxO Photolab it shows all global settings and local adjustments you have made to that image.
I defined .dop sidecar files as hidden so as to see only the image thumbnails in DOpus as a default view; I can show them if I wish, which aids if you decide to move an image via DOpus to another directory since the sidecar should also be moved with it should you not want to lose those settings (if you move it via DxO Photolab this is done by Photolab anyway which also keeps a database of all this).
Thanks for your explanation, which is very helpful.
Guess I should answer the question too. You can turn off the generation of sidecars but for me they seem too useful so I kind of sidestepped that. Anyway, check the menu edit/preferences than under the general tab; there's checkboxes for saving and autoloading sidecars.