Server will not delete a directory because it is not empty (?)

[Perseus]

I am using an FTP client for my website, and when I attempt to delete a particular directory an error message comes up saying: "Server file error: Directory not empty", when in fact IT IS empty. There are no files in there. I NEED this directory deleted, how do I do it? Thanks!

 

[theDan]

Hopefully you've already tried this but JIC-

fire up the unix abyss that is the Terminal and type:
chdir (make sure you typed a space after that then drag the folder into the terminal window)

hit return

type ls (this will list all files in the directory you just selected) PS thats an LS, just lowercase.

if the directory is empty, then you have a bad block or B-tree or something equally dark and scary, if not, use:

sudo rm file-name-goes-here

type in your password (the characters WILL NOT show up, just keep typing)

return

repeat ls and sudo rm until directory is empty, then sudo rmdir (ReMove DIRectory)

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
theDan

 

[Perseus]

Thanks for your help Dan, what I found was a .DS_Store file in the directories in question, so I just used: rm (filename), then cd .. to get back and then rmdir (directory name) to delete it. That DS "file" is some hidden thing that I did not know previously existed!

 

[theDan]

Good, i suspected it was that file. the .DS_Store file is a hidden Mac OS X file used to save the layout of a folder/window. Things like whether the window is in list/icon view, or whether item info is displayed or not is saved in there.