??? on trash can and mail

Hi Group;
I have a question about the trash can. When I delete a file it never goes to the trash. It is always permanently deleted. How do I get the files to go to the trash can?

Next question is about the mail. Used to be if I received a .wmv or .avi file the file would open and play in the mail message. Now all I get in the message area is just the audio part.

any help??

thanx, nod

To your first query - the MacOS doesn't "permanently delete" anything from its source, eg, a folder or other location. First the item must be moved to Trash, and THEN the user deletes it permanently - from the Trash.

To move items to the Trash, you can use one of two methods, but both require you, the user, to select the item (one click) and then, depending on the situation you're working in, use File > Move to Trash, or Cmd-Delete with the keyboard. Once you've done that, to delete the item permanently, you use Finder > Empty Trash (or Secure Empty Trash).

About Mail - I don't know of any Mac mail application that automatically plays video or audio attachments. I've just checked Eudora, Mail and Entourage, and none of those enable auto-play. Someone else may help you better.

The problem I am having is nothing goes to the trash can. I drag to the trash or right click and select move to trash I always get the following prompt:

The item "file.name" will be deleted immediately. Are you sure you want to continue?

I click delete but nothing ends up in the trash.

thanx, nod

nod said:

I always get the following prompt: The item "file.name" will be deleted immediately. Are you sure you want to continue?
I click delete but nothing ends up in the trash.

Click to expand...

My word, you really do have an interesting situation. I've never encountered what you describe. What OS version are you using, and in what environment are you working, ie. Finder, or an application?

No, if 'delete immediately' is occurring, then you wouldn't find the item in Trash, because 'trashing' is quite distinct from 'deleting'.

And thanks, you're right, I omitted the R-click > Move to Trash option.

Are the files that you are trashing on a network-mounted volume. If so, it is because some network mounts do not support having trash and the file(s) must be totally deleted.

If it is on a local drive, look at repairing permissions on the machine (Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility).

ron4mac said:

Are the files that you are trashing on a network-mounted volume. If so, it is because some network mounts do not support having trash and the file(s) must be totally deleted.

If it is on a local drive, look at repairing permissions on the machine (Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility).

Click to expand...

That is exactly what I was going to say, as I work with a lot of network drives and it does do this.

Hey Nod,
As for the email question, download Flip4Mac - Digital Media Tools for the Mac. That fixed that problem for me.

ron4mac said:

Are the files that you are trashing on a network-mounted volume. If so, it is because some network mounts do not support having trash and the file(s) must be totally deleted.

If it is on a local drive, look at repairing permissions on the machine (Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility).

Click to expand...

I am not on a network. Just my imac (10.5.5). I am using a wireless router and a Maxtor 750 GB external hard drive for time machine. Every once in a while I get an error message from time machine. I ran the disk utility from the hard drive and it didn't make a difference. Anymore thoughts on the problem?

thanx, nod

Create another account on the machine (if you don't already have one), log into it and see if the same thing happens from that account. That will give us a better idea of what might be causing the unwanted behavior.

I posted the same question on the apple forum after not getting the problem resolved. Here is the response I got and it works:

Click on the item in the Finder's sidebar with the house icon and verify that you are able to write to this folder in the Sharing & Permissions section of the Get Info window, and that it isn't locked; if it is already set this way and you get that error, open the Terminal in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder and run the following:

mkdir ~/.Trash

If you get a message stating that the folder exists, run the following:

sudo chown $UID ~/.Trash
chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash

The first command in the second set will prompt you for your administrator password; nothing will appear in the Terminal window while it is being typed.


Hopefully it will help others. Thank-you for the help.

nod

Which part fixed it? Was it the settings in Finder or the commands from the terminal? Just for the record to help someone else.

dtravis7 said:

Which part fixed it? Was it the settings in Finder or the commands from the terminal? Just for the record to help someone else.

Click to expand...

The commands typed into the terminal is what fixed the problem. The trash now works right.

nod