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Deleting only certain files permanently from trash bin

H

helio1982

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 29, 2008
30
0
Hi there,

I'm a recent mac converter. Hope someone can help me out.

Now in XP I was able to remove certain files from the trash bin. I never actually emptied the entire trash bin, but once in a while would delete the oldest files from the trash bin and keep the new ones.

Is this possible in OS X? I was only able to empty the entire trash bin, but not certain parts of it.

Would appreciate any help!

Best,

Helio
 
OSX is not windows.

Trash can is not a storage place.

Do you often go into your kitchen trash, and take a few things out to bring to the trash collection or do you bring the whole bag for trash collection?
 
Terminal can help. Just,
Code: 
cd ~/.Trash
Then use the rm command to delete files individually. You might be able to do something with Automator as well, but have never needed to do something like this. If it's in the trash I'm not likely going back for it. You can also create a Pre-Trash folder and throw it on the dock if that's your style.
 
why don't you just make a folder for "old" files, and then delete the selected ones out of there permanently? the trash is not a storage bin. This is one of my pet peeves.. I've gotten yelled at by people at work who's trash I emptied because they were saving files in there, and I told them the same thing. :eek:
 
Consultant said:
OSX is not windows.

Trash can is not a storage place.

Do you often go into your kitchen trash, and take a few things out to bring to the trash collection or do you bring the whole bag for trash collection?
Click to expand...

I can't wait until Apple stops agreeing with this rude and narrow-minded attitude.

It is ridiculous that OS X does not allow me to delete a very large file and reclaim it's space without opening up the terminal to do so - OR alternatively I can also destroy all the other files in my trash bin that I may actually want to keep around just so I can reclaim the space for one file.
 
saltyzoo said:
I can't wait until Apple stops agreeing with this rude and narrow-minded attitude.

It is ridiculous that OS X does not allow me to delete a very large file and reclaim it's space without opening up the terminal to do so - OR alternatively I can also destroy all the other files in my trash bin that I may actually want to keep around just so I can reclaim the space for one file.
Click to expand...

It does. Place that large file in the trash, and empty the trash. If you're keeping stuff in the trash that you don't intend to remove permanently, you're making a very big mistake. That is not what the trash is for (think literally, as the post the quoted encouraged: you don't keep stuff in your kitchen trash unless you plan to dispose of it permanently).

jW
 
saltyzoo said:
...the other files in my trash bin that I may actually want to keep around just so I can reclaim the space for one file.
Click to expand...

What's ridiculous is that people keep files they might want in the Trash.

The Trash is limbo. If there's a chance, even a small one, that you might possibly, someday, for some reason, ever want to look at a file again...it should not be in the Trash.
 
portent said:
What's ridiculous is that people keep files they might want in the Trash.

The Trash is limbo. If there's a chance, even a small one, that you might possibly, someday, for some reason, ever want to look at a file again...it should not be in the Trash.
Click to expand...

If the trash is so ridiculous why have it at all? That's what is ridiculous. To have something and then cripple it to the point of making it useless but having it still be there anyway.
 
saltyzoo said:
If the trash is so ridiculous why have it at all? That's what is ridiculous. To have something and then cripple it to the point of making it useless but having it still be there anyway.
Click to expand...

One reason is accidental deletion. Sometimes people get click happy (no I've never been such a victim :)). And there is ways to delete files without them ending up in the Trash bin. Straight to poof.
 
I'm disappointed

Sorry guys but I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed of some of your reactions. Come on, be more tolerant, okay?

Now, if you want to help a guy out - then do it. Otherwise just move on and don't get caught up on it. Why waste your (and my) time, by starting these silly discussions.

There is no one way of how to use your Mac or PC. We are different and that's okay (I thought that was something most Mac Users were proud of, but never mind).

Thanks for the constructive replies though, I really love this forum!
 
You can open the Terminal, type in "rm", put a space, and then drag the file you wish to delete and hit return. To delete a folder or application, type "rm -R", put a space, then drag the folder/app into the Terminal window and hit return. Use "srm" instead of "rm" to securely erase the file (preventing recovery.)

Be very careful with rm and srm, make a typo, and you can wipe your hard disk.
 
helio1982 said:
Sorry guys but I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed of some of your reactions. Come on, be more tolerant, okay?

...
Click to expand...
Would you be tolerant of someone who lit a cigarette in a coal mine? No matter how you slice it, dice it, or puree it, using the Trash as general storage is a transcendently dumb practice.

Since the introduction of System 7, the Mac has allowed the user to keep files in the Trash in perpetuity. If, however, you emptied the Trash, then you deleted everything stored there. One of the things that makes the Mac the Mac is that it behaves logically and consistently. Even you don't know how to accomplish a task, then ask yourself, "How should this be done?" More often than not, the answer to that question is the way that the task is accomplished.

You don't store files in the trash can in your office, on the hallway, or on the street corner. By what logic then would you store them in the Trash on your computer?

After some thought, I believe that I have figured out why Windows users do it. It is more convenient than the safer logical alternative. I am constantly amazed by the gymnastics that Windows puts its users through to navigate its file system and to display its directories and files. Most of my Windows-using colleagues rely on applications such as Word rather than Windows Explorer to navigate the directory structure. OTOH, the Mac file system is incredibly easy to navigate and to manage.

Given a choice between a difficult to navigate file system and a readily available recycling bin, the Windows user is more likely to chose the recycling bin. That said, it is still a dumb practice.
 
I've said it before,

and won't say it again. If you've got a problem with my post then move on with your life and don't waste your and our time.

I bought the Mac I'm working on, I bought the software, so I guess I might use it the way I want. I'm posting in order to get some help, not in order to tell other people how to do their stuff, or other people telling me that what I'm doing is wrong. Intolerance = being unable and/or unwilling to understand other people's point of view.

Thx though to the other posters, I found a solution which works well for me!

Best,

Helio
 
helio1982 said:
and won't say it again. If you've got a problem with my post then move on with your life and don't waste your and our time.

I bought the Mac I'm working on, I bought the software, so I guess I might use it the way I want. I'm posting in order to get some help, not in order to tell other people how to do their stuff, or other people telling me that what I'm doing is wrong. Intolerance = being unable and/or unwilling to understand other people's point of view.

Thx though to the other posters, I found a solution which works well for me!

Best,

Helio
Click to expand...

If you would, posting the solution you are comfortable with might prove valuable to others that don't care for the Mac method for dealing with trash and find this thread by searching. The forum works best by sharing info as well as asking for solutions no matter the topic!;)
 
I still can't believe that someone uses the Recycle Bin in Windows or the Trash in Mac OS X as a place to save and store files.

You can justify it any way you want but it makes no logical sense whatsoever. One mistake on either OS and the files are all gone.

It's a ridiculous risk to take and not a smart thing to do. But hey, if you want to be silly and put files you care about at risk, more power to you. However, when you do something so patently stupid and admit to it on a public forum, you don't get to complain when people tell you how crazy it is.

S-
 
pressing cmd+delete is easier to temp delete some thing than creating a new location and manually moving there.
I usually put files I will never need again in the trash. But there is that odd time where I want that file gone quickly so I send to trash with a hot key. Only to run into a situation where I need it again and drag it back.

I even have done this in real life. I through some school papers away and a few days later seen that I needed them again. I had to did through my trash to find it. Now If life was like windows, I would permatly empty select items for my real life trash.. like the candy wrappers and garbage.

;)

I dont think it is a windows user thing, I thin it is just bad human behavior that one must over come... But I say eff it, and I will do as I please :p
 
sidewinder said:
I still can't believe that someone uses the Recycle Bin in Windows or the Trash in Mac OS X as a place to save and store files.

You can justify it any way you want but it makes no logical sense whatsoever. One mistake on either OS and the files are all gone.

It's a ridiculous risk to take and not a smart thing to do. But hey, if you want to be silly and put files you care about at risk, more power to you. However, when you do something so patently stupid and admit to it on a public forum, you don't get to complain when people tell you how crazy it is.

S-
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's crazy to think that you should be able to delete one large file without destroying your trash bin, or even thinking that your trash bin is useful in the first place.
 
Cromulent said:
It is useful if you use it like a bin in real life i.e put rubbish in it.

Golden rule : if it ain't rubbish don't bin it :).
Click to expand...

In real life I don't have to put a shipping box in my kitchen trash, I can walk it to the curb.

My beef is that there is no way to walk something to the curb avoiding the bin altogether.
 
saltyzoo said:
In real life I don't have to put a shipping box in my kitchen trash, I can walk it to the curb.

My beef is that there is no way to walk something to the curb avoiding the bin altogether.
Click to expand...

See, the problem is the metaphor breaks down when you start thinking about large and small items. Whether a file is large or small makes no difference to the computer in terms of deleting something. Drop a large file into the trash, empty it, and you get the same result with the same effort as if it was a small file. It's like having a large dumpster as your kitchen trash can, you can put anything into it and it doesn't matter what it is, it'll still fit and can be permanently disposed of without any effort.

The point still remains, btw, that you wouldn't take something to the curb you intended to keep. Nor would you put it in your trash can. If there's any chance you'll need it and can't obtain another copy, don't put it in the Trash. If someone told me that they had a file in the trash and didn't intend to delete it but emptied the trash accidently, I'd laugh my head off because it sounds so stupid. If they do that on the computer, suddenly (even though none of the terms have changed), you expect that same action to sound perfectly sane.

jW
 
Mal said:
See, the problem is the metaphor breaks down when you start thinking about large and small items. Whether a file is large or small makes no difference to the computer in terms of deleting something. Drop a large file into the trash, empty it, and you get the same result with the same effort as if it was a small file. It's like having a large dumpster as your kitchen trash can, you can put anything into it and it doesn't matter what it is, it'll still fit and can be permanently disposed of without any effort.

The point still remains, btw, that you wouldn't take something to the curb you intended to keep. Nor would you put it in your trash can. If there's any chance you'll need it and can't obtain another copy, don't put it in the Trash. If someone told me that they had a file in the trash and didn't intend to delete it but emptied the trash accidently, I'd laugh my head off because it sounds so stupid. If they do that on the computer, suddenly (even though none of the terms have changed), you expect that same action to sound perfectly sane.

jW
Click to expand...

You're analogy magnifies the problem perfectly. The trash bin IS a dumpster in the kitchen. And that's the problem. I don't want a dumpster in my kitchen, and nobody should be forced to have one.

Here's the problem. As you go along deleting your files they go into the trash. Now, lets say you delete a large file that you are 100% confident you do not need because you are getting low on disk space. In order to actually claim that disk space you have to throw out the baby with the bathwater and completely flush your safety net.

This is stupid. Particularly when there is such an elegant solution available. OS X is by far my favorite OS to work in, but that does not mean that everything windows does is evil. Holding down shift and hitting delete is two keystrokes that allows the trash to maintain it's functionality while allowing the user to regain access to their disk space. The alternative OS X provides to this simple 2 keystroke solution is an average of 20 keystrokes to open a terminal, cd to the directory, and rm the file. This is stupid.

Is this a huge problem with the OS? No. But, it is a valid criticism of the OS that should not be met with derision as has happened here. In many cases the mantra that you have to think differently using OS X is appropriate. In this case it is not.
 
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