How do I empty all the files in the "Downloads" folder ?

Question

How do I empty all the files in the "Downloads" folder ? Can they all be deleted at once?

Answer 1

PS: when you look into the menu bar commands by mouse, you may note
there are keyboard shortcuts to perform the same tasks; such as they are.
*Edit> Select all* = uses 'Command + A' keys to do this, without mouse/menu.
And, it can be done quickly by keyboard. +(this will select all, for the next step)+
You would have to select the folder to be edited; yet there also are other key
board commands to select items, folders, applications, etc all without a mouse.
Once you choose items in a folder or other location, you can then use a
keyboard command to Move them to the Trash; from there, Empty Trash
with a three-key command; all without use of the mouse.
The keys to *Move to Trash* looks like it is 'Command + Delete'. Some key-
boards have two marked delete keys, so you may have to try both. The
+small delete key+ has an icon with right-facing x in a box.
The three keys, to *Empty Trash* via keyboard instead of menu bar/mouse
appear to be the combination of 'up-arrow, command, delete.'
Understanding some of the iconography of symbols used to indicate function,
or what keys to use, as indicated by icons instead of words, is not too hard.
There are articles and web pages which show various keyboard shortcuts.
Here's an example, from one of several I've bookmarked over a few years.
This one has images and shows what the key shortcut symbols mean.
• Mastering Keyboard Shortcuts: (from myfirstmac site)
http://www.myfirstmac.com/index.php/mac/articles/mastering-keyboard-shortcuts
• Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
However, if you have anything you may want to keep before mass deleting, be
sure to move it into another folder. +re: The docked folders in Leopard+ 10.5 have
one .PDF in each, about each of the purposed folders. I haven't deleted mine yet.
{And I've added another folder into the dock near the Trash for my own alias items
and the original is on the hard disk drive (one user) or could be put into an account
folder so it would not have permissions or privilege issues with a second account.}
I'd thought about those 'keyboard symbols' after the first posting; but,
had to take an elder parent on several errands that took quite awhile.
PS: there probably are ways to use AppleScript and Automator to handle folder contents.
Good luck & happy computing!