This is a real puzzle. For years I was using Banktivity, and I kept the data file in my iCloud Documents folder (giving me access from various devices). When I switched to a different app, I backed up the data file and then deleted it from my iCloud drive.
Since then, about once a week, the folder (named “Banktivity Files”) shows up in my trash can. If I try to empty the trash, it tells me I can’t because the file is in use. So, I open it up, hold down the Command key, and click the Empty button.
But the bloomin’ thing keeps reappearing. I’ve searched the local drive and the iCloud drive for the folder, and it’s not there. It’s not a huge problem by any stretch of the imagination, but it does make me wonder what’s going on. Oh yes, I should mention this happens on any Mac I’m signed into. It’s just weird.
Has anyone ever encountered something like this? I’d love to find a solution just to satisfy my need to know. If there isn’t one out there, no big deal.
I’d suggest you contact Backtivity support. Their “chat” is responsive, as is their “snail” support.
That being said, why aren’t you synching Banktivity, rather than putting the Banktivity “package” (not a single file but a whole lot of files) into a macOS “package”. Use Banktivity synced per the way Banktivity syncs on each machine to do as I think you want. The “package” hides files and subfolders but in Finder you can “show package contents”.
I suspect that Apple’s iCloud, sometimes unreliable with complex file synchronisation, has led to this issue. Why and how, I don’t know.
Best to make a backup soonest, I think, before data is possibly lost? Be sure when you contact Banktivity to tell them that your Banktivity “package” is in a folder synched by Apple’s iCloud. This may assist you in recovering everything safely.
The method to “Remove files deleted from other apps” might help.
Of course, if it is a cache problem, it’s not clear which cache is involved. I’d hope that working on iCloud.com directly would override anything on an iCloud-connected device, but that may not be the case.
I’m wondering, though, what process (Banktivity, Apple iCloud, or other) moved the file to Trash and if moved is that what Banktivity expects? All a complex mystery which may be difficult to find root cause and I’d be leary of deleting it simply because it is in trash. If a process is using it, maybe it needs to be used?
I wouldn’t be afraid of deleting the file since the OP isn’t using Banktivity any longer. I wonder if Banktivity is still installed on a computer, and there’s some background process running that keeps resurrecting it? I find that hard to believe, but I’d delete Banktivity if it hasn’t already been removed. Or see if you can find something in Activity Monitor, as @csf111 suggested.
The recommendation to not store the Banktivity data file in iCloud Drive probably has to do with how the data file handles changes. That is, it’s a single file for all of the accounts data, so a single change means the entire file changes. Depending on how the sync process is set up, this can result in an incomplete sync of that entire file, which can render it useless.
I suppose it’s possible that iCloud Drive syncing screwed up a cache file, which is triggering the reappearance. If Apple’s draconian iCloud deletion methods don’t work, I’d definitely reach out to the developer.
Thank you for all of the suggestions. Like I said in the original post, this is nothing more than an extremely minor annoyance that provoked some curiosity. It isn’t interfering with anything or, so far as I can tell, creating problems.
Still, the next time it occurs I will pop into Activity Monitor to see if there are any hints there.
Overnight the zombie folder reappeared, so I dug into Activity Monitor and Console. Nothing there caught my eye (not that I know what I’d be looking for). But I noticed that the folder in the Trash had the little cloud icon next to the name, telling me it was not on my local drive. So I went into iCloud.com and deleted it forever–I hope.
I’ll let you know if it ever shows up again. Once more, thanks for all of the suggestions and insights!