![User-trash-full](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/User-trash-full.svg)
In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...
, the trash is a
graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
desktop metaphor
In computing, the desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users interact more easily with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the computer monitor as if it is t ...
for temporary storage for
files set aside by the user for deletion, but not yet permanently erased. The concept and name is part of
Mac operating systems
Two major famlies of Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc.
In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the "Classic" Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system, rebranded "M ...
, a similar implementation is called the Recycle Bin in
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, and other
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
s use other names.
In the
file manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage files and folders. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files include creating, opening (e.g. viewing, playing, editing or pr ...
, the trash can be viewed by the user as a special
file directory
In computing, a directory is a file system cataloging structure which contains references to other computer files, and possibly other directories. On many computers, directories are known as folders, or drawers, analogous to a workbench or the ...
, allowing the user to browse the files and retain those still wanted before deleting the others permanently (either one by one, or via an "empty trash" command). It may still be possible using third party software to
undelete
Undeletion is a feature for restoring computer files which have been removed from a file system by file deletion. Deleted data can be recovered on many file systems, but not all file systems provide an undeletion feature. Recovering data with ...
those that were deleted by mistake. In
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
, the Trash folder links to hidden folders on each mounted drive where the files are actually stored.
Within a trash folder, a record may be kept of each file and/or directory's original location, depending on the implementation. On certain operating systems, files must be moved out of the trash before they can be accessed again.
Whether or not files deleted by a program go to the recycle bin depends on its level of integration with a particular
desktop environment
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphica ...
and its function. Low-level utilities usually bypass this layer entirely and delete files immediately. A program that includes file manager functionality may or may not send files to the recycle bin, or it may allow the user to choose between these options.
History
Bill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson (born March 17, 1951) is an American computer engineer and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990.
Atkinson was the principal designer and developer of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the Apple ...
began developing the
Apple Lisa
Lisa is a desktop computer developed by Apple, released on January 19, 1983. It is one of the first personal computers to present a graphical user interface (GUI) in a machine aimed at individual business users. Its development began in 1978. ...
user interface in late 1978. In March 1982 he reached the stage of changing to an icon-based file manager, and produced a mock-up with a trash can icon (including buzzing flies) for deleting files.
The release version of Lisa was launched in 1983 with a "Wastebasket",
[ Apple Invents the Personal Computer. Again., 1983]
/ref> its icon "an alley-style garbage can ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
vertical lines to indicate a ribbed surface .... an open lid and a handle on the front of the can." Apple advertised "If you can find the trash can, you can run a computer."
Following this, the Magic Desk
Magic Desk was a planned series of productivity software by Commodore Business Machines for the Commodore 64. Only the first entry, Type and File, was ever released. It was introduced at the summer edition of the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show i ...
I ROM cartridge for Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
presented a primitive representation of office furniture, with a wastebasket or trash bin under the desk. This lacked functionality and was not taken further.
In 1983 Susan Kare designed the core visual design language of Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The ...
System 1
The Macintosh "System 1" is the first version of Apple Macintosh operating system and the beginning of the classic Mac OS series. It was developed for the Motorola 68000 microprocessor. System 1 was released on January 24, 1984, along with th ...
, launched in January 1984. This incorporated some elements of the Lisa interface, including a refined version of the icon, now labelled Trash,
with "a closed lid with a handle on top." An ad supplement in ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' introduced the Mac interface, with its "pictures of objects you'll have no trouble recognizing ... Even a trash can." A subsequent update to Lisa renamed its Wastebasket icon "Trash".
In "International English
International English is the concept of using the English language as a global means of communication similar to an international auxiliary language, and often refers to the movement towards an international standard for the language. Relat ...
" localizations of Classic Mac OS, Trash was named "Wastebasket".
In early versions of the Macintosh Finder, Trash contents were in volatile memory, and were lost when the computer restarted. From 1987, if anything was in Trash its icon bulged as a reminder to check the contents before shutting down. Following the 1991 introduction of System 7
System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Co ...
, the Trash folder retains its contents until the user chooses to empty the trash.
The outcome of the lawsuit ''Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.
''Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation'', 35 F.3d 1435 ( 9th Cir. 1994), was a copyright infringement lawsuit in which Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.) sought to prevent Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard from using visual graphical user ...
'' (filed in 1988, decision affirmed on appeal in 1994) was that graphical user interfaces similar to Apple's did not infringe rights, but some features including Apple's Trash ''icon'' were original and protected by copyright. Non-Apple software could use other metaphors for file deletion, such as Recycle Bin, Smart Eraser, or Shredder.
In 1993 or 1994, Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
implemented its first temporary deletion system in MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
6, under the name ''Delete Sentry'': When a file was deleted, it was moved to a hidden SENTRY folder at the root of the drive.
Microsoft introduced its current trash system in 1995, the ''Recycle Bin'', with Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...
, as an area to store and review files and folders prior to deletion. Unlike the mac, at default settings Recycle Bin auto-deletion permanently deletes files to free up disk space when it gets low, or deletes files in the Bin over 30 days. In this version, the original location record of the file is stored, but the folder itself didn't allow subdirectories. When a folder is deleted, its containing files are moved into the bin and mixed with other deleted files. The directory structure can only be restored if the batch of files is "undeleted". The current (revised) Recycle Bin allows for subdirectory trees to exist within folders that have been moved there. The icon shows a bin with a recycling symbol
The universal recycling symbol ( or in Unicode) is internationally recognized for symbol for recycling activity. The symbol's creation originates on the first Earth Day in 1970, where the logo depicted is a Möbius strip. The public domain sta ...
on its front.
With the new interface of Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
introduced in 2001, the Trash icon moved from the desktop to a permanent place at the end of the Dock
A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...
. The International English "Wastebasket" had been dropped at the end of 2009, making the name "Trash" standard. In keeping with the system appearance, the Trash was a shiny wire basket, until with OS X Yosemite
OS X Yosemite ( ; version 10.10) is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.
OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014, at WWDC 2014 and rel ...
in 2014 it became a translucent white container. With macOS Mojave
macOS Mojave ( ; version 10.14) is the fifteenth software versioning, major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. Mojave was announced at Apple's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Worldwide Devel ...
, the Trash was renamed "Bin" in the Australian English localisation, and with macOS Catalina
macOS Catalina (version 10.15) is the sixteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. It is the successor to macOS Mojave and was announced at WWDC 2019 on June 3, 2019 and released to the publ ...
, "Bin" also appeared in the UK localisation.
Implementations
Trash functionality is usually integrated into a desktop environment
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphica ...
and its file manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage files and folders. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files include creating, opening (e.g. viewing, playing, editing or pr ...
. Examples include:
* Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The ...
and macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
, with Finder, as "Trash" (localised as "Wastebasket", later "Bin")
* MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
6.x, with Microsoft Undelete, as "Delete Sentry"
* Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, with Windows Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
(later called File Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
starting with Windows 8), as "Recycle Bin"
* GNOME
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
and MATE
Mate may refer to:
Science
* Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in:
** Mate choice, intersexual selection
** Mating
* Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins
Person or title
* Friendship ...
(Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
), with Nautilus
The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina.
It comprises six living species in t ...
and Caja, respectively
* KDE
KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that allow collaborative work on this kind of software. Well-known products include the ...
(Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
), with Konqueror
Konqueror is a free and open-source web browser and file manager that provides web access and file-viewer functionality for file systems (such as local files, files on a remote FTP server and files in a disk image). It forms a core part of ...
and Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
* Xfce (Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
), with Thunar
Thunar is a file manager for Linux and other Unix-like systems, initially written using the GTK+ 2 toolkit and later ported to the GTK+ 3 toolkit. It started to ship with Xfce in version 4.4 RC1 and later. Thunar is developed by Benedikt Meu ...
* Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
, with Workbench
A workbench is a sturdy table at which manual work is done. They range from simple flat surfaces to very complex designs that may be considered tools in themselves. Workbenches vary in size from tiny jewellers benches to the huge benches used by ...
. The Professional File System
The Professional File System is a filesystem originally developed commercially for the Amiga, now distributed on Aminet with a 4-clause BSD license. It is a compatible successor of AmiFileSafe (AFS), with an emphasis on added reliability and spe ...
added trashcan-esque behavior at the filesystem level.
Some implementations may contain "shredding" functionality to counter data remanence
Data remanence is the residual representation of digital data that remains even after attempts have been made to remove or erase the data. This residue may result from data being left intact by a nominal file deletion operation, by reformatting o ...
.
Linux desktop environments
The KDE, GNOME and Xfce implementations comply with the freedesktop.org
freedesktop.org (fd.o) is a project to work on interoperability and shared base technology for free-software desktop environments for the X Window System (X11) and Wayland on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It was founded by Hav ...
Trash specification, ensuring that any applications written with this specification in mind will be interoperable with any trash can implementation.
Although the various Linux desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE, and Xfce provide a trash mechanism, there is traditionally no simple way to trash something from the command line interface
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
. Some third-party applications, such as trash-cli, provide commands on the command-line to use the trash, compatible with the FreeDesktop.org Trash Specification.
macOS
Using macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
, a file or folder is deleted in Finder by dragging its icon onto the Trash icon at the right hand end of the Dock
A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...
, moving the item into the Trash folder, where it can be viewed but not used until it is moved out again. To restore highlighted items from the Trash to their original position, a contextual menu brings up a Put Back option. The keyboard shortcut to move highlighted items to Trash, or Put Back items, is . To finally delete files, clicking on "Empty" brings up a warning that this cannot be undone, and an option to delete.
Putting items in the Trash folder moves them to a hidden temporary folder: for the boot disk, a user account has this at ; each mounted volume such as an external drive has a hidden folder in the root folder named . When viewing the device's available space the space occupied by the deleted files is shown as occupied. The Trash folder shows deleted files from external drives, including removable media. This does not apply to networked drives, where trying to move an item to Trash brings up a warning that it will be deleted immediately and this cannot be undone.
Since OS X El Capitan
OS X El Capitan ( ) () is the twelfth major release of macOS (named OS X at the time of El Capitan's release), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh. It focuses mainly on performance, stability, and security. Following ...
, the Trash can be bypassed by pressing when a file is selected. Since macOS Sierra, the user can enable an option to have the Trash automatically empty after 30 days.
In UK and Australian English localisations, the Trash is known as "Bin".
Apps and iOS
In several macOS apps and in the iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
mobile operating system, the Trash is within apps rather than in the system as a central feature. The standard icon for the Trash is a small version of the original Classic Mac OS trash can. Files are moved to a "Recently Deleted" folder within the app where they remain available for recovery for a stated number of days, then are automatically permanently deleted. Apps where this applies include Photos
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...
and Mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
. Files may still be recoverable if a computer backup was run before they were moved to "Recently Deleted".
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
's ''Recycle Bin'' is implemented as a special folder
On Microsoft Windows, a special folder is a folder that is presented to the user through an interface as an abstract concept instead of an absolute folder path. (The synonymous term shell folder is sometimes used instead.) Special folders make ...
with columns like ''Date deleted'' and ''Original location''. Typically only files deleted via File Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
(but not necessarily other Windows graphical interfaces such as file selection dialogs) will be put into the Recycle Bin; files deleted via the Command Prompt
Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd, is the default command-line interpreter for the OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Microsoft Windows (Windows NT family and Windows CE family), and ReactOS operating systems. On Windows CE .NET 4.2, Wind ...
are permanently deleted, as (by default) are files deleted via operating system API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
s and applications other than Windows Explorer. Some operating system APIs do, however, allow applications to recycle files rather than delete them. In previous Windows operating systems and in MS-DOS, undeletion
Undeletion is a feature for restoring computer files which have been removed from a file system by file deletion. Deleted data can be recovered on many file systems, but not all file systems provide an undeletion feature. Recovering data witho ...
was the only way to recover accidentally or intentionally deleted files.
As standard, the Recycle Bin only stores files deleted from hard drives, not from removable media, such as memory cards, thumb drives, or floppy disks, nor does it store files deleted from network drives. There are methods to make it work on network paths, however.
The Recycle Bin has a setting to configure the amount of deleted files it can store. Free disk space allocated for this is not actually used until files are deleted from folders and stored in the Recycle Bin. In versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
, the default configuration of the Recycle Bin is a global setting for all drives to hold 10% of the total capacity of each host hard drive volume to store deleted files. For example, on a volume with a capacity of 20 gigabytes, the Recycle Bin will hold up to 2 gigabytes of deleted files. This can be changed anywhere from 0 to 100% of the drive space, but will not be allowed to exceed 3.99GB of space, even if the user-indicated % of the drive space is larger than 3.99GB. If the Recycle Bin fills up to maximum capacity, the oldest files will be deleted in order to accommodate the newly deleted files. If a file is too large for the Recycle Bin, the user will be prompted to immediately and permanently delete the file instead.
The actual location of the Recycle Bin depends on the type of operating system and file system. On older FAT
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
file systems (typically Windows 98 and prior), it is located in ''Drive:\RECYCLED''. In the NTFS
New Technology File System (NTFS) is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows NT family. It superseded File Allocation Table (FAT) as the preferred fil ...
filesystem (Windows 2000, XP, NT) it is ''Drive:\RECYCLER''. On Windows Vista and above it is ''Drive:\$Recycle.Bin'' folder.
The Recycle Bin can be accessed from the desktop or Windows Explorer, or by typing "shell:RecycleBinFolder" in the Run dialog box (). It is the only icon shown by default on the Windows XP desktop. When accessed from the desktop, the Recycle Bin options and information are different from those of the physical Recycle Bin folders seen on each partition in Windows Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file ...
. From Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
onwards, with NTFS
New Technology File System (NTFS) is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft. Starting with Windows NT 3.1, it is the default file system of the Windows NT family. It superseded File Allocation Table (FAT) as the preferred fil ...
, different users cannot see the contents of each other's Recycle Bins.
Prior to Windows Vista, a file in the Recycle Bin is stored in its physical location and renamed as . A hidden file called ''info2'' (''info'' in Windows 95 without the Windows Desktop Update
Windows Desktop Update was an optional feature by Microsoft that was included with Internet Explorer 4 (IE4, released in September 1997), which introduced several updated shell features to the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. These ...
) stores the file's original path and original name in binary format. Since Windows Vista, the "meta" information of each file is saved as and the original file is renamed to .
When the user views the Recycle Bin, the files are displayed with their original names. When the file is "Restored" from the Recycle Bin, it is returned to its original directory and name.
In Windows Explorer, files are moved to the Recycle Bin in a number of ways:
* By right-clicking on a file and selecting delete from the menu
* Selecting the file and pressing the delete key
* Selecting delete from the ''Task pane'' in Windows XP
* Selecting the file and choosing delete from the File menu (in Windows XP Explorer)
* By dragging and dropping a file into the Recycle Bin icon
* From the ''Send To'' menu
* From a context menu
A context menu (also called contextual, shortcut, and pop up or pop-up menu) is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right-click mouse operation. A context menu offers a limited set of choice ...
command or some other function in a software application (usually configurable)
It is possible to bypass the Recycle Bin and directly delete a file by holding the SHIFT key while performing an action that would normally send a file to the trash.
Other uses
The 1984 original Mac and several of its successors (up to the 1987 Macintosh SE
The Macintosh SE is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, from March 1987 to October 1990. It marked a significant improvement on the Macintosh Plus design and was introduced by Apple at the same time as the Mac ...
) lacked a (then prohibitively expensive) hard drive
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
. Instead, the system ran from a floppy disk
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...
which could be ejected (), graying out its icon ('ghosting') and leaving its contents in memory, ready to transfer to another disk. In Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The ...
, dragging the disk icon to Trash (shortcut ) directly ejected a disk (or CD) without leaving a grayed icon.
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
removed the transfer option; dragging a disk or storage volume onto Trash converted the icon to the universal Eject symbol before unmounting and ejecting the disk or volume. This does not place the disk/volume in the Trash folder, nor does it erase the disk/volume.
The GNOME Human Interface Guidelines cite using a waste basket to eject a removable disk as an example of a metaphor taken beyond its reasonable use.
See also
* Xerox Alto
The Xerox Alto is a computer designed from its inception to support an operating system based on a graphical user interface (GUI), later using the desktop metaphor. The first machines were introduced on 1 March 1973, a decade before mass-market G ...
* File deletion
File deletion is the removal of a file from a computer's file system.
All operating systems include commands for deleting files ( rm on Unix, era in CP/M and DR-DOS, del/ erase in MS-DOS/ PC DOS, DR-DOS, Microsoft Windows etc.). File ...
* Data erasure
Data erasure (sometimes referred to as data clearing, data wiping, or data destruction) is a software-based method of overwriting the data that aims to completely destroy all electronic data residing on a hard disk drive or other digital media b ...
* Temporary folder
In computing, a temporary folder or temporary directory is a directory used to hold temporary files. Many operating systems and some software automatically delete the contents of this directory at bootup or at regular intervals, leaving the direct ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Microsoft Knowledge Base article "How the Recycle Bin Stores Files"
User interface techniques
File system directories
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