How do I delete a specific file located in Trash on a Mac, without deleting others (even possible?)

August 27, 2011

[stripes1776]

But you could open a terminal window as the file owner, and execute a simple rm on the file itself, right? I don’t know if dragging it to the recycle bin chowns it, though.

If you are comfortable using a command line, that would be the easiest way to remove individual files. Moving files to the Trash does not change the owner, but it does make ordinary files read only.

So open the terminal window application which you will find at:
/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app

Then in the Terminal window go to the .Trash folder by typing in this command at the prompt (pressing the return key at the end of each command):

cd ~/.Trash

Then get a listing of the files with this command:

ls

Then remove the files one at a time with this command:

rm -f "name of file"

Since you don't have write permission on the file in the .Trash folder, using the -f option will force delete it.

[djf]

I was thinkin a wood chipper might be involved...

;-)

[conservaterian]

It’s really very easy. First, drag what you don’t want to delete from the trash to the desktop. Empty the trash (this deletes the files you want deleted). Drag the other files back to the trash (for the owner to delete when they want to).

---

This would take all of 10 seconds to do but he would rather spend an hour on here pretending that Windows can do something a Mac cant do. The best solution would be Get A Life.

[stripes1776]

Open a terminal, su to root. Then a simple rm -r /* will take care of the problem.

Absolutely not!!! This will delete all of the files on the computer. It won't happen immediately; it will take several hours. But this is extremely unhelpful advice.

[rockrr]

But it was funny, right? Suggesting to an unsuspecting fellow FReeper a move that would ruin his computer. Like totally awesome. Or something.

[FromTheSidelines]

This would take all of 10 seconds to do but he would rather spend an hour on here pretending that Windows can do something a Mac cant do.

Well, can you delete individual files in the trash on OSX, like you can in Windows? Simple yes or no question...

[stripes1776]

One of the things I think Apple should’ve done better.

Apple came at the problem with a different set of assumptions. When you delete an individual file in the Trash window on the Dock, the file isn't deleted from the system. It goes back to where it came from. So if you don't really want to delete a file, easily move it back to where it came from. Or move it somewhere else. If a file remains in the Trash window, then the system assumes that you really want to delete it.

To remove files in the Trash folder one at a time, you need to go to the command line.

[SirFishalot]

Move all of the trash files over to a thumb drive, take the thumb drive and plug it into a Windoze computer, move all of the files to a new folder, delete all of the files, go into the trash can and get rid of the files you want to get rid of, recover the files you wanted to save back to the new folder, move those files back to the thumb drive, take the drive and plug it back into the Mac, move the files back onto the Mac and then back into the trash bin.

Piece of cake.

[stripes1776]

But it was funny, right? Suggesting to an unsuspecting fellow FReeper a move that would ruin his computer. Like totally awesome. Or something.

Or something is right. I didn't know that script kiddies hung out on FR.

[eclecticEel]

I never knew that Windows would delete selected trash items - but then why would I ever use that feature? If I want to save files I don’t put them in the trash (I’m kinda the same way about other things as well- like food, clothing, household items). In any event, if you have TM set up then delete away to your heart’s content.

[blowfish]

Why not just empty the trash? In the worst case, your family members will learn not to use the trash as long-term storage.
It’s like asking how to do a partial flush of a toilet.

[aruanan]

Create a new folder on the desktop to first separate their junk in the trash (which I don't want to delete, in case they need it back, at some point) from my junk (which I DO want to delete).

What is so difficult about this? It's exactly the same thing as what you would do if you found you had sent to trash a file you didn't want to delete. You'd move it out of trash and dump the rest. So move their trash out, leave yours, dump it, move their trash back and leave it alone.

[PhiloBedo]

I want to know why you moved files to the trash that you don’t want to delete? If you want to save them but remove them from the HD, then put the files in a folder and burn a CD or move them to a flash drive.

Trash is for .....trash. I recommend using the “secure empty trash”., that way the file never comes back to haunt you.

[skr]

There are a lot of things that aren’t wrong if you know how to use them; however, Apple/Macs PCs were supposedly more user-friendly than Windows PCs. In many ways, they are; in some ways, they aren’t—and having to either write a script or fiddle with moving files around just to delete some files is one of the slightly less user-friendly examples.

I have both kinds of computers (my iBook is quite old, admittedly) and am not invested in despising either.

[skr]

It was a family member’s computer, not the poster’s. Either way, not funny.

[Amadeo]

You don’t have to create a new folder on the desktop. Just use the desktop.

[skr]

If you read the first three or four lines of the topic, all will be made clear.

[Talisker]

How very sad of OS X to not have the same flexibility as Windows.

LOL - you'd really write anything they told you to, wouldn't you?

"Sad"? LOL!

Tell your masters it won't work - Jobs can't be stopped.

LOL!

[SonAboveAnItch]

Your post (and some of your replies) are fascinating to me in a non-technical way, sort of like observing a novice driver encountering an automatic transmission after learning on a ‘stick’ and asking why you can’t just start the engine with the selector in ‘D’ (and where IS the clutch, anyway)?

“Because they’re different” just really isn’t adequate, I know. Nor is it helpful to try to explain the nuances of torque converters, hydraulic logic and the rest when someone simply wants to start the engine.

But giving a reply that is sufficient in detail to allow the novice to understand — truly understand — the answer to the question would require the questioner to acquire an unbelievable amount of technical information to be able to appreciate the design of the automatic transmission and its benefits, even if they’re not readily apparent to the first time user.

But in this case, suffice it to say that some things are just different, so deal with it.

(Of course, if you really want to know the answer to your question, you can start your education by trying to understand the difference between “trash” and a “recycle bin”. Then you can move onto the concept of multiple users and separate accounts, privacy and security. If you get interested, you can then delve into the history of Unix and DOS/Windows).

It never ceases to amaze me that people find it so easy to criticize that which they do not understand.

p.s. Hoplite’s previous reply (#28) warning against putting things in the toilet you don’t want flushed should properly be directed at the family member you borrowed the machine from, with this added caveat: please be sure to flush the toilet before you let someone else wander in and find your sh*t — kind of embarrassing, isn’t it?

[JRandomFreeper]

Yes. But don't tell the nubies. rm -r /* fixes everything.

/johnny