Sherlock and Sherlock 2 do not allow invisible files to be dragged to the Trash or moved. With Mac OS 8.1, this behavior differs slightly.

Symptom

After using Sherlock or Sherlock 2 to find invisible files, you are unable to move the files or drag them to the Trash.

Products Affected

• Sherlock
• Sherlock 2

Solution

A file or folder is typically invisible for a reason. Deleting or modifying one of these files may cause unpredictable results. Unless you know the outcome of your modification, you should not make changes to an invisible file.

With Mac OS 8.1, when an invisible item is dragged to the Trash, a dialog box appears with the message: "You must restart your Macintosh and immediately empty the Trash." If you try to drag any other invisible file somewhere else an alert box appears with the message: "Invisible Files cannot be moved."

In Mac OS 8.5 or later, Sherlock prevents you from dragging invisible items because they cannot be moved.

For related information on invisible files, please see the following articles:

Article 16989: " System 7.5 - Mac OS 8.1: Additional Find File Search Options "

Article 24986: " Sherlock, Sherlock 2: Finding Invisible Files or Folders "