[GNC] Accidentally Created .LNK file and now my entire GnuCash file is overwritten and I can't get back to work

[Geert Janssens]

Op zondag 4 november 2018 14:59:39 CET schreef Anita Graves via gnucash-user:
> Dear Gnucash folks.  I just
>  read on the Internet that the file extension .LNK is a Windows file
> shortcut.  What does that mean????  I don’t use Windows and thought I had
> downloaded Gnucash for Mac. Thank you all. Anita

While on Windows the .LNK extension refers to a Windows shortcut, gnucash uses 
it differently. It's one of the two files it creates to lock a book (the other 
file will end in .LCK).
In general you should not worry about those two files. If they exist that 
means gnucash didn't close properly last time you used it. In other words: it 
crashed. And that's what you said has happened. If they exist, gnucash will 
warn you that your book is still locked as gnucash itself can't distinguish a 
crash from another user having the book still open. As you know it's crashed 
you can choose "Open anyway" and the locks will be reset. Of course as long as 
*this* run of gnucash still has your book open, the .LCK and .LNK files will 
remain. They only go away as gnucash quits. And even then, on my system 
several .LNK files are still lingering next to my test books and they work 
fine nonetheless.
To conclude: the .LNK file is not your worry. You really can ignore or even 
remove it.

Geert