When a folder in your work area has been used for Dimensions CM item file operations, a metadata folder is created beneath that folder called.dm. You can choose to turn off the creation of metadata in the Preferences dialog of the desktop client. Deselecting the Write metadata option on the Configuration tab will mean that metadata is not written to the work area during file operations such as check out or update. See Setting the Configuration Details.
NOTE Dimensions CM does not maintain metadata for directory items. Operations that rely on metadata, such as deliver, update, and synchronize may not work as expected for directory items.
The metadata folder contains files storing Dimensions-related information about the files and folders in that folder. By default, these folders are hidden in Windows Explorer. To view them, from the Explorer window, select Tools | Folder Options, and select the Views tab. Select Show hidden files and folders to view them, and select Do not show hidden files and folders to hide them. It is not recommended that you change any of the contents of the metadata folders. If you want to see details of files or folders that have been deleted from the work area since an update was last performed, you can use the compare feature provided with the Dimensions CM Explorer Plug-in.
NOTE If a file is renamed or moved when synchronized, the original history is not lost. This unique feature uses the Explorer facility to track moves and renames in order to keep track of the file relative to its original location within the project. This information is used by the Synchronize Wizard to offer a single rename event to the user that preserves original history of an item as opposed to the traditional way of tracking as two separate deletion and addition events where originating item history would be broken.