Selectively deleting trash items

Hi All - I'm new to this forum and a Mac newbie. I working my way through all the Windows>>Mac user transitions. One thing I can't find out how to do is to delete only selected items in my trash bucket. I either have to delete all or none of them. I now have several very large files in there that I want removed from my computer. Other than removing all trash contents to a separate folder and then adding only those large files back to the trash to delete, is there a way I can delete only those selected large files from the trash bucket?
Thanks for your help with this.

There is a way to delete one or more items specificly in the Trash, but being new to Mac (means you are probably new to UNIX) and the following may be dangerous. So enter at your own risk.
1. Open Terminal application form /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
2. Once in terminal, perform the following command exactly as written. Where the command reads "yourusername" insert the name or your account.
cd /Users/yourusername/.Trash <Enter>
ls -la <Enter>
Now look for the file that you're wanting to delete from trash. If you don't see the file/s you are looking for, go no further and post back as you're probably in the wrong location.
If you do see the files in terminal that you're wanting to remove from trash, then perform the following commands. Where the command reads filename.ext replace that with the name and extension of the file you are removing.
rm filename.ext <Enter>
ls -la <Enter>
Is the file still there?
Post back if you have any problems, remember using terminal can be dangerous if you are not sure what you are doing.

Similar Messages

  • History of deleted Trash items

    Is there a log somewhere to track or list recent items trashed/deleted from computer? I'm trying to determine if a virus wiped out certain files from my computer or if someone actually went onto my computer and trashed & deleted 'em.

    You might be able to create a folder action to track what was placed in a trash can. There is a trash can for each volume you have.
    If interested, I could provide more details on how to do this.
    Robert

  • Data recovery from deleted trash

    I must have accidently removed two documents from Apple Works. I then emptied my trash not realizing that those documents were in the trash. I have looked at the posted questions and don't seem to find one similar to mine. Is there software available or a method whereby I can go into the deleted trash items and retrieve these two documents without costing me a buch of money?

    Hi Longmont man!
    How important to you, are the files?
    There is no free method, of recovering deleted files.
    Review this Data Rescue II FAQ, and decide if it was purchasing Data Rescue II, is worth it.
    ali b

  • When I delete an item it dissapears, but does not show up in or go to Trash?

    Hello,
    When I delete an item it does not go to or show up in trash. I like to have the option of retrieving from Trash if needed and empty trash when I'm sure I don't need the file  etc.
    So when I choose to move something to Trash I get this message: "This item will be deleted immediately. You can’t undo this action."
    Macbookpro 10.9.5
    Note: Finder > Preferences > Advanced > Empty Trash Securely   is  Not ticked/ Not selected.
    Can anyone help please?  
    I want to be able to send files etc to Trash and choose myself  when I empty/delete Trash.
    Thank you
    Dp

    dvp2012,
    See the X Labs -> http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html#Anchor-Files-46919.
    Good luck,
    Clinton
    MacBook Pro (15” Late 2011), OS X Yosemite 10.10, 16GB Crucial RAM, 960GB M500 Crucial SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

  • "The files are on a volume that does not support Trash. Would you like to permanently delete the item?"

    Suddenly I've started getting the error "The files are on a volume that does not support Trash. Would you like to permanently delete the item?.
    iMAC OSX 10.9.4.
    LR 5.6,
    Camara Raw 8.6
    Any idea?
    Please Help Me...
    Thanks in advance
    Jose

    This is how I solved it, thanks to combined information posted on forums:
    1. Got a new external hard drive formatted for Mac (I was using read-only Windows from my PC)
    2. Created a folder in new external drive >imported to LR->send to trash- empty trash
    3. The above was still not working until I noticed one day magically the missing picture icon started to show up in LR
    4. I went to the "set as rejected"pictures> locate missing pic (and nearby ones)
    5. Selected the pics -photo>remove> delete from disk
    Done!!!
    Thanks to the hours spent on searching different threads, and to the relentless users because LR never provided any kind of support or formal response to solve this by just letting users to getting lost in frustration .

  • How do I delete  one item at a time from trash?

    How does one delete one item at a time from trash?

    In general, one doesn't.
    I suggest you create a new folder (I use "Trash Soon") on the desktop near the trash icon. Move all the stuff out of the Trash bin into the Trash Soon Folder. Then move the things you really want to eliminate to the Trash can. Empty Trash.
    DO NOT store anything you want to keep in the real Trash can. There are many activities that may cause "Empty Trash" a a side-effect.
    If you have multiple drives, The Trash is an illusion created for your convenience. The actual Items may be on several different drives, but all marked as "in Trash". Moving them to a folder on a different drive may cause unexpected copying.

  • Junk mail returns after deleting the item in the "Junk mailbox" and "Trash".  Is there a way to permanently block the sender?

    Junk mail returns after deleting the item in the "Junk mailbox" and "Trash".  Is there a way to permanently block the sender?
    I have deleted the item multiple times both on my Mac mini and my touch and 5 minutes later it is back in my Junk mailbox.  The item will not return to the Junk mailbox until it is deleted from the trash.

    You can create a Rule
    http://email.about.com/od/macosxmailtips/qt/How_to_Block_a_Sender_in_Mac_OS_X_Ma il.htm

  • Have a question I do not use mail in my computer I use yahoo and I have all these emails and selected all and then delete then delete trash and they always come back how do I stop these old email in apple mail? I never send anything from there but I have

    have a question I do not use mail in my computer I use yahoo and I have all these emails and selected all and then delete then delete trash and they always come back how do I stop these old email in apple mail? I never send anything from there but I have the same email in yahoo but delete them and they still show up in apple mail from day one how do I get rid of these once and for all.Please help
    <Edited by Host>

    I am soooooooooooo confused now.  Ok, if you are having problems with Yahoo Mail and Gmail but you do not use Apple's Mail you need to do the following:
    1 - Post in Yahoo's Mail forums and/or contact their tech support.
    2 - Post in Gmails forums and/or contact their tech support.
    Neither of the above are Apple's products.

  • Multiple selection but delete single item

    Hi,
    please help me to find a solution!!
    I have 2 listboxes. listbox Description is populated by XML.
    When user selects multiple items at the same time from the Description listbox, they are populated in the listbox and are removed from Description listbox. that works fine.
    But the issue is if the user accidently selects one of the multiple selected items at the same time wrong and want to delete a single items, this doesnt work anymore.
    I can not even click on each single item.
    I try to find a way how to enable user to populate multiple items at the same time and be able to delete each single item, which then should return back to the Description listbox.
    I would really appreciate if you could help me on this!!!
    This is my sample: https://acrobat.com/#d=l0mujTOFduSJFele5R5i3g
    Thanks,
    Diana

    Would you not just reverse your code ..instead of populating listbox from the selections in description and deleting the items out of description, remove the items from listbox and update description then remove the items from listbox.
    Or am I missing something?
    Paul

  • My trash bin is empty, when I delete one item and try to empty trash it say there are 6 items to delete? Any ideas?

    My trash bin is empty, when I delete one item and try to empty trash it say there are 6 items to delete? Any ideas?

    Try holding down the Option key when emptying the Trash.
    If that doesn't help, try here >  Mac troubleshooting: What to do when the Trash won’t empty
    This free utillity is handy for stubborn trash > Download Trash It! for Mac

  • Deleting locked item in trash

    How do I delete an item in the trash that's locked?
    it was part of some software on my scandisk cruzer flash drive. i deleted all the other software and info on it before i used it, but for some reason the LaunchU3.exe won't delete. any help please.

    HI,
    Here are some ideas ...
    *" LaunchU3.exe "* That is a Windows format?? Try holding down the Option key and empty the Trash, if that doesn't help, try these links.
    How To Fix Stubborn Trash and Why it Won't Delete
    You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash in Mac OS X
    Carolyn

  • Hacker problems so I reloaded Snow Leopard. Afterwards, Mac had to delete 798 items. Now looping on 4 items to delete for the past 2 weeks. Can't reboot, reload, or restart. I have to let the battery run down for it to turn off. How to fix this, please?

    I had hacker problems so I reloaded Snow Leopard. Afterwards, Mac had to delete 798 items. Now it is looping on 4 items to delete for the past 2 weeks. I can't reboot, reload, or restart. I have to let the battery run down for it to turn off. I think a big part of the problem is that someon one the internet (the hacker) was mirroring my hard drive. It seems to have locked up my system. I could be wrong about this guess, though. All I do know is that it is now looping on the last 4 iems, and I can't do anything.
    Well, I can get it to turn on, but all it does is continously try to delete the last 4 items. When I try to reload Snow Leopard, it tells me my hard drive is full and that I need to delete items.
    Can anyone help? I am so lost without my Mac. I am back on the PC, and though it works, I'm sure many of you will understand when I say it's just not a Mac.
    Thanks.

    I installed Snow Leopard using my Apple external Superdrive. I followed directions I found on the Apple site. Here is the article info:  Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard: How to Erase and Install  
                     Article HT3910
                     located at: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910
    Everything was going smoothly until I got to the reinstall part. I had to choose to reinstall on a hard drive or network drive. I've never used a network drive; just the hard drive. It seems that's where the troubles began. I selected the hard drive. It seemed to go well, and then I got the message that I needed to delete some files because I was out of space. I chose to get rid of my music files, but, there were only 636. I don't know what the rest of the files were. I was using the Secure Empty Trash command.
    That was my first time doing an erase and install. I tried to do it again, but I now get a continuous error telling me that my hard drive is full and I must delete files. Only I can't delete files because 4 files are still being deleted and my computer won't let me stop the process.
    I found out about the hackers mostly by the fact that whenever I used to watch something like Hulu or Netflix, I never had problems with internet connection or speed. Lately, I had internet connection problems. I went in to check my settings for my internet provider and found out the settings had been changed to public and all these extra computers were connected to my network.

  • Error message when trying to delete an item in a purchase order

    Hi,
    We are trying to delete an item in a PO, but when we select the item and click on the trash button (Delete), we get the following error message:
    «Evaluated receipt settlement open, deletion not possible
    Message no. ME867»
    There was a good receipt that was originally done for this PO. We cancelled it with the opposite posting (debit GR/IR account and credit the project account using t-code MIGO.) The account assignment category of this PO is «Project».
    Thanks for you help.
    Julien

    Hi,
    This means ERS is active in your system.
    What this means is that when you do a GRN, an ERS flag is activated in the PO header.  The ERS is then settled using the PO data in SRM.
    If you have not settled this (at least this is what is indicated from the message), then uncheck this flag in the PO header and then try and archive.
    Cheers.

  • Trash items

    Hi! Where do i find the trash items with Time Machine?
    What am i talking about: It appears i have deleted files that i do need again. So i started Time Machine and selected my last backup dating back to oct-23rd. while expected to find my files on desktop it appears i had already deleted them back then but probably at that time they were still in trash. So i searched the backup for the trash bin. But there is no trash bin.

    Harpo Marx wrote:
    Hi! Where do i find the trash items with Time Machine?
    Sorry, but you don't.
    Time Machine (like most other backup apps) does not back up trash. See *What’s excluded from backups* in #11 of [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
    You'll have to look at your desktop in older backups. If the files aren't there, they're gone.
    If you emptied the trash lately (with a normal empty, not a Secure Empty), and haven't used your Mac much since then, there's a chance the items can be recovered with +Data Recovery+ software. But if you emptied it some time ago, and/or have added/changed much since then, the files have likely been overwritten.
    See [Data Recovery|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/Recover.html].

  • I tried to delete one item from an email folder, and my computer deleted the whole file. I cant fint it anywhere.

    I tried to delete one item from an email folder, my computer deleted the whole file and I cant find it anywhere. Any ideas?

    lindafromgainesville wrote:
    ...is there a seperate trash for email?
    In Mail, yes -

Maybe you are looking for