Files on External Drive
Hello,
I have an external drive that I periodically attach to my MacBook Pro (running Big Sur) which is used exclusively for backing up photos. It has been formatted as ExFat since I also have a Win 10 laptop and would like the option of sharing should there be a need. My question is regarding files saved to this drive, specifically ones with a ._ prefix. I understand these are created by the Mac and store Extended Attributes (EA) in turn Finder hides these files, which helps significantly . However, when attached to a Windows laptop they are fully visible in addition to the original file. As a example on Windows I would see FILEABC also ._FILEABC in the same folder.
I simple wanted to ask should I leave these files alone (which is ok) at the risk of causing problems for the Mac or the original file? Or can these ._ files safely be removed without consequence, which would only be for a "cleaner look" and maybe to free up space?
Thanks for any thoughts.