I am running Windows 8.1 pro.  I have a problem with folder.jpg files I keep in my picture folders.  Skydrive is having a hard time managing them across my Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 desktops, apparently because they have the hidden property set.

I have been using the Skydrive with my Windows 7 Picture Folders for a while now.  Within each picture folder I have a "folder.jpg" file to visually identify the folder; that folder.jpg file is hidden.  Syncing these files between machine and the cloud has not been a problem.  Indeed in general using Skydive on the Windows 7 machine as been pretty straight forward.

Using Skydrive on Win8.1 his an unmitigated pain.  Forget its almost obsessive need to create (multiple) duplicates of files because I guess I have to live with the knee jerk response "Skydrive duplicates files when there is an apparent conflict"  Though there is irony in the fact that the conflicts invariably originate with how Skydrive on Win8.1 does things (I don't have a problem with duplicate files on Win7.)

Anyway. getting Skydrive on Win8.1 to sync these folder.jpg files in any coherent manner is proving impossible,  I manage to get the folder files onto my Windows 8.1 machine (after deleting the two duplicates of every folder.jpg file that it insists on creating.)  I can only get them down from the cloud with the hidden property set off so I turn the hidden property flag on and all is well... except that within a short period the folder. jpg files in the cloud have been deleted and the deletes propagated to my windows 7 machine.  The files do exist (albeit hidden) on the Windows 8 machines but deleted across other devices.  If I un-hide the folder.jpg files they refuse to sync with the cloud?

I am getting smarter, I can recover the lost folder.jpg files be restoring them from the Recycle Bin in the cloud.  They then reappear as expected on my Windows 7 machine, along with 3 copies on the Win8 machine and so the cycle starts again.

My question is -- How is Skydrive on Win8.1 supposed to handle hidden files?  It is obvious that it does it differently from how they are handled on Win7.

Also

A convenient way to delete the duplicate files is to use Explorer, open Skydrive, do a search for folder.jpg which lists of all files plus the file duplicates.  I delete the duplicates and refresh the search but the duplicates keep showing up in the search results?  If I try to delete them again, I am told they don't exist.  If I open location, they are not present, I empty the recycle bin and refresh the search and the deleted duplicates continue to show up.  Every time I do a search on my local Skydrive, (both the desktop and the Modern/Metro version) the deleted duplicates show up.  They don't show up if I search the physical location of the folders being synced.  Any suggestions as to clearing whatever cache these deleted files are stuck in?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions