12-09-2008, 01:45 AM

I don't have Time Machine set up. I don't have an external drive. I shouldn't have to buy one just to be able to restore stuff I accidentally dropped in the trash without having to drag it back manually. Windows does this with ease.

How do I restore files from the trash bin to their original location? There has got to be a way to do this!

If there is no other way other than to drag the mistakenly erased file back to it's original home or use a bulky set-up like Time Machine, then who has an inside line to the folks working on Snow Leopard. I'd like to have a long chat with their head of common sense.

12-09-2008, 02:53 AM

If you deleted something and haven't done anything else yet, then just hit Cmd + Z and it'll automatically undelete whatever it was that you just deleted.

12-09-2008, 12:39 PM

Nobody knows. This feature was removed from the Mac OS beginning with Mac OS X

If this frustrates you, send feedback to Apple
Apple - Feedback
and tell them you want the Put Away command back.

12-10-2008, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by technologist

Nobody knows. This feature was removed from the Mac OS beginning with Mac OS X

If this frustrates you, send feedback to Apple
Apple - Feedback
and tell them you want the Put Away command back.

I've written to them already. A short but sweet, ******-off message that surely will get some attention. CTRL+Z is a fix, only if I JUST deleted something. It's not a solution. Why Apple took this feature away astounds me! Time Machine is a glorified back-up system that makes backing up data look like space travel. It's nothing new. And to take away the "Put Away" feature in favor of a clunky back-up program requiring an external hard drive (preferably, from Apple in the company's eyes) is ridiculous.

I simply no longer understand the frustration Mac users have with PCs. Yes, the viruses and spyware (I've never had a problem because I don't go to idiot websites and keep my updates fresh). That just comes with Windows being the most used computer OS. Just like nobody likes the U.S.; we're the lone superpower (at least for now). Windows is a clunky POS, but it has some great common-sense features. So does Mac OS, but restore-from-the-trash-bin capability should be a standard, not an option! Like a turn signal on a car: you don't have to use it, but it has to be there or you'll get screwed. Well, I'm screwed.

I hope to every known god Apple people read these forums and actually give a hoot to fix this stupid oversight. And to those who will say, "Well, I don't need a restore feature from the trash bin!" I say, "Good for you! I do!" Just like pencils have erasers. We, as humans, make mistakes. Apparently it's uncool for Mac users to make mistakes. Which may also explain why there isn't a backspace and delete key on any Mac keyboards. We could have done with the "Eject" button being next to the CD-ROM slot or as a function of the ESC key. Having to hit Fn + Delete is ridiculous! We use "Delete From The Right" more often than ejecting a CD!

12-10-2008, 12:32 AM

It really sounds like you should have just stuck with Windows. If the OS bothers you that much, maybe it would be a good idea to sell off that Mac and get a Windows machine. If I felt that way I sure would.

I doubt Apple is going to listen to any complaint like that you send them.

12-10-2008, 12:50 AM

Am I missing something the second button down on the right hand side of a
MacBook Pro is a delete key and I thought it performed the same function as
backspace.

12-10-2008, 12:54 AM

Originally Posted by sirbOOm

I've written to them already. A short but sweet, ******-off message that surely will get some attention. CTRL+Z is a fix, only if I JUST deleted something. It's not a solution. Why Apple took this feature away astounds me! Time Machine is a glorified back-up system that makes backing up data look like space travel. It's nothing new. And to take away the "Put Away" feature in favor of a clunky back-up program requiring an external hard drive (preferably, from Apple in the company's eyes) is ridiculous.

I simply no longer understand the frustration Mac users have with PCs. Yes, the viruses and spyware (I've never had a problem because I don't go to idiot websites and keep my updates fresh). That just comes with Windows being the most used computer OS. Just like nobody likes the U.S.; we're the lone superpower (at least for now). Windows is a clunky POS, but it has some great common-sense features. So does Mac OS, but restore-from-the-trash-bin capability should be a standard, not an option! Like a turn signal on a car: you don't have to use it, but it has to be there or you'll get screwed. Well, I'm screwed.

I hope to every known god Apple people read these forums and actually give a hoot to fix this stupid oversight. And to those who will say, "Well, I don't need a restore feature from the trash bin!" I say, "Good for you! I do!" Just like pencils have erasers. We, as humans, make mistakes. Apparently it's uncool for Mac users to make mistakes. Which may also explain why there isn't a backspace and delete key on any Mac keyboards. We could have done with the "Eject" button being next to the CD-ROM slot or as a function of the ESC key. Having to hit Fn + Delete is ridiculous! We use "Delete From The Right" more often than ejecting a CD!

Can you summarize that for me? Okay thanks.

12-10-2008, 08:26 AM

So anything YOU don't like is just a ridiculous stupid oversite is it? Is the weather nice on the planet that you live on??

ps - my mac has a delete key

pps - You're doing a great job to get the rest of the world to like Americans. Thank god I don't live there!

12-10-2008, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by Kash

If you deleted something and haven't done anything else yet, then just hit Cmd + Z and it'll automatically undelete whatever it was that you just deleted.

Perhaps I'm being dense, but couldn't one also just open the trash and drag the needed file out of it?

12-10-2008, 08:36 AM

I guess having to put the file back where you found it is hard cwa, lol. Finder is rocket science I guess. NOW, if they robbed you of that feature in OS9, that would SUCK, I hated finder in OS9.

12-10-2008, 08:50 AM

You could argue that:
a) dragging files from the trash to a folder isn't really that difficult
b) if you don't know where the file came from in the first place, you probably shouldn't have deleted it
c) if pressing 2 keys is causing problems then just drag the cd/dvd icon to the trash to eject it (incidentaly the eject key on most windows slot-load laptops is on a modified function key too)

You could also argue that:
a) you are perfectly correct and these issues should be corrected to your satisfaction and forget anyone else who thinks otherwise.
b) sending abusive emails to big companies always gets good results
c) spending so much money on a laptop that doesn't even have the keyboard layout you insist on is perfectly rational.

Have you also noticed this . . . no right-mouse button.... how nuts is that?!

12-10-2008, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Perhaps I'm being dense, but couldn't one also just open the trash and drag the needed file out of it?

That's what I do. However, I usually delete things I want to be deleted. I was also surprised to find there was no restore button. It does make sense. I guess that makes the score- PC-2( Gaming and restore button) Mac- 300 (Leopard has over 300 features, right?)

12-10-2008, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Forum Shark

That's what I do. However, I usually delete things I want to be deleted. I was also surprised to find there was no restore button. It does make sense. I guess that makes the score- PC-2( Gaming and restore button) Mac- 300 (Leopard has over 300 features, right?)

Probably not the best approach in the world, but I tend to just leave my Trash alone until there is some concern about space. At that point, I run a SuperDuper backup and then empty it. So far, this hasn't failed me, but as you mentioned, I typically don't delete anything unless I need to - and much of the time, anything that is unusually large, I end up copying to my NAS and manipulating from there.

I think dtravis7 hit on a very important point. If you're the type of person who is very set in their ways, and you were content (even if not ecstatic) about Windows, you'll probably find the Mac to be frustrating. Personally, I switched because I wanted something different - so I didn't find it at all frustrating that it was indeed different.

One piece of advice I would offer to the OP, if he or she is intent on sticking with the Mac; take your Windows hat off. Throw your habits away and approach the new machine with an open mind. There are ways of doing everything you did with Windows, but they may be a little different from what you're used to. If you're always trying to force your Windows-oriented habits in OS X, I think you'll find it counter-productive.

12-10-2008, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by mrplow

You could argue that:
b) if you don't know where the file came from in the first place, you probably shouldn't have deleted it

I would add to (b) - if you don't know where it came from how do you know it's missing!

Seriously though, some things are different on a mac - that's what makes it brilliant. I find that the thing that works best like Windows is in fact Windows. Period.

12-11-2008, 02:27 AM

Obviously everyones becoming mad at me. Classic case of coming off too strong. **** us Italians. Anyway, folks, I have to say I believe you are overlooking obvious flaws in the OS X operating system in order to justify your love for Macs (or anti-Windows sentiment). And you know what?, that is perfectly fine. If you love your Mac, God bless you. I like many, many features of mine including how the text looks on the screen relative to a Windows PC. I don't know why the text is different-looking, but it is and I like it.

If I have somehow insulted some of you, forgive me. But if that is the case, you need to buck up and realize not everyone who owns a Mac thinks it is absolutely perfect. It is far from it, just like Windows. I started with Windows, then used Windows/Mac 50/50, now use Mac at home primarily because I don't want to feel like I'm at work (work is Windows XP – and they block the “pretty” GUI with the blue task bar in favor of the system resource saving gray boringness).

Now to the growing points of this thread...

Trash Restore Feature:
So say, hypothetically, I delete 500 files. I realize this is rare. I realize I should know where they came from. I'm not saying I don't (but maybe I did forget where they were exactly... so what?) Say every two files comes from a different folder. What you folks are asking me to do is either hit CTRL + Z (if I'm lucky enough to not have done any task to fill the cache of whatever tracks that command's functionality) you want me to drag and drop 250 times? No way; absolutely not! I shouldn't have to. It is fundamentally simple to code in a tracker into trashed files to allow Finder to know where it came from. This isn't George Bush spying on your files. It's a common sense, useful, and practical feature. A restore feature saves me a lot of hassle in this and any case, and you all know it. This isn't something that annoys me only - it annoys every one of the die-hard Mac users that got me to switch to this MBP, too! No trash bin restore is just flat out ridiculous. And!, Apple, as I'm finding out, took away this perfectly good, useful, and powerful feature when it came out with OS X vs. OS 9. I just don't understand their logic! People make mistakes, and not everyone in the world is interested in dragging-and-dropping all their mistakes back from whence they came. It's a pain in the butt to do, especially without a desktop mouse, being forced to use the track pad.

Ejecting a CD:
Dragging and dropping the CD icon from the desktop to the trash bin is something that's been wholly Mac for ages. I remember having to do that on the old Apple computers in grade school. I found it annoying then, and I find it annoying now. It's not wrong to find that annoying, and it's not wrong to really love that idea instead of a single press button. It seems like whenever I disagree with a Mac user over something about a Mac or OS X, I get blamed as it is my fault, like it's a freakin' birth defect that I'd rather just hit a button! Or, I hear some explanation about how the eject button is really just a “specialized Fn key”. I'm sure it is, and it's awesome!

You know, I'd use the eject button and be satisfied, but you have to hit OPTION + EJECT to get a CD out! That's just extra steps for something so simple. Why accept that as "Okay" or "Brilliant" Apple die-hards? Why? Why not make that eject button something so much more useful, like a real DELETE key – and make the existing DELETE key a proper BACKSPACE key?

I don't see how Apple's “easy of use” and “aesthetic design” principles accept having to hit two buttons to eject a CD, having to hit two buttons to delete from the right, or having to manually drag-and-drop mistakenly deleted files back to their previous home from the trash bin.

One of you mentioned a comparison between my desire to have a proper eject button and delete key to OS X's 300+ new features. I can tell you were being light-hearted, and I'm not trying to attack you but let me use your comments for my point. (1) A proper eject button and delete key are not part of OS X, but part of the keyboard and/or casing. Yes the command is executed by OS X (though it could be operated by a BIOS or be a hard switch), but that is not anything new in the OS world ever since the CD-ROM came along. (2) How many – tell me – of the 300+ new features can you name w/out referencing a website? Or, better yet, how many of them do you actually use? How many of them require you to buy more stuff for them to work in the fancy way you see at the stores (i.e., Time Machine)? Each of you will answer differently, and that's what's great about the 300 features – they cater to many different people.

So tell me, since Macs cater to many different people, why does Apple allow such oversight of these simple, useful tools when most computer users like, use, and want the right click (not CTRL + CLICK) functionality; a proper delete key; an easy, quick way to get their CD's out of their drive; and an “oh crap I screwed up when I erased those music files” restore feature.

I appreciate cwa107's response. This is an individual that did not attack me as a person: telling me that, in my rants here, I'm ignoring what other people want or that pressing 2 keys or dragging-and-dropping is some sort of personal problem. Remember, everyone, I'm not attacking you as a person, I'm attacking a lack of common sense features in OS X and the unnecessary acceptance of these features as “acceptable.” It is not acceptable to have to press two buttons to do something that on every single other brand of computer you may simply press one. It is not acceptable to add inefficiencies to a computer system used by, for example, graphic designers, who use right-click functionality often or accidently erase a file that was in one of their 40 layers of folders. And, in a grander scale, it is not possible to expect businesses will start buying Macs for their workers instead of Dells if they cannot be efficiently used in the most tactile of ways. Sure, Spaces is great! Love it! But no proper delete key? I have to use the track pad to click over behind the text I want to delete, then use the “delete” key, which is really a backspace key, or press CTRL + DELETE. At least on my MBP and MBs I've used, pressing CTRL + delete all the time is awkward (and again, should be unnecessary).

Someone said that they usually just delete things they want to delete. Another person in another forum said, “Why delete anything, space is cheap!” Some of us make mistakes, and some of us like to keep a tidy hard drive. There is nothing wrong with that. Mac is supposed to cater to lots of people, so cater to those of us that don't want to go around hoops to manage files and edit text!

And to the person who said Apple probably wouldn't listen to my strongly-worded suggestion I sent to Apple. I've seen forum upon forum of people ticked there is no trash restore functionality. There have been 5 major revisions to OX X thus far (10.5 now). Coding this in cannot be impossible, especially given what Apple software engineers have shown they can do. All it is is a small update. File management infrastructure doesn't need to be changed. Just a tag... just a tag of where the file came from so Finder knows where to send it back if it needs to be restored. And has Apple listened to ANY of these people who've send the regular, nice, rainbows and butterflies “suggestion”? Nope. They also haven't been listening to the folks who want a right click button. They could make it an option – and probably sell a lot more computers to businesses – but they don't. Oh, and don't get me started on how Mac is known for its media arts users but they have only glossy screens now!