One-button press to "Move to Trash"

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Level 1

11 points

One-button press to "Move to Trash"

Been searching for a while to find a way to press one single button on my keyboard to move an item to the Trash.

Default is Command-Backspace. I understand why Apple designed this to be hard to change, but I'm an adult and I can handle the responsibility of checking to see what I have highlighted before I press a button to move it someplace where it would be just a step or two away from near unrecoverability.

Keyboard Shortcuts and setting up 'Move to Trash' or 'Cut' doesn't seem to work.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Mar 15, 2009 3:40 PM

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Answer 1

par larsson Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 15, 2009 4:17 PM in response to Barney-15E

Barney - did just that. Didn't work. Would I need to restart my computer or not have Finder running after doing this?

dirt farmer - thanks but no thanks. You'll find that when you work with a large amount of files every day for 15+ hours while on a deadline, you'll be wanting to be as efficient as humanly possible in the way you use your computer.

That involves bothering with moving your hands and especially the mouse as little as possible, so taking your hand off the keyboard to the mouse, finding the cursor with your eyes and moving it from two monitors away to target one single file in a list of approximately 90, then right-clicking and moving the mouse AGAIN before selecting a command, is simply a non-starter.

Message was edited by: par larsson

Message was edited by: par larsson, for syntax, clarity

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Answer 2

Mar 15, 2009 3:56 PM in response to par larsson

Why not just add the "delete" button to your finder toolbar? Just go to View ----> Customize Toolbar. Drang the icon in.

Or what's so hard about right clicking your mouse to delete? That's the easiest way.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,116 points

Mar 15, 2009 3:56 PM in response to par larsson

You could set it to a function key. Other than function keys, all keyboard shortcuts require a modifier key. Use the Keyboard & Mouse>Keyboard Shortcuts to add a shortcut to Finder for 'Move to Trash'

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,116 points

Mar 15, 2009 4:05 PM in response to par larsson

Nope. I just did it to try out and it worked immediately.
I just looked. Are you running Tiger (10.4) or Leopard (10.5). Your profile says 10.4 which I think requires a log out and back in to activate the shortcuts. It is also less capable with the keyboard shortcuts. And no, I can't really define the 'less capable' part.

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Answer 5

par larsson Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 15, 2009 4:10 PM in response to Barney-15E

10.5.6

This is my process:
System Preferences
Mouse & Keyboard
Keyboard Shortcuts
'Plus' sign to add a shortcut for 'All Applications'
Menu Title: Move to Trash
Keyboard Shortcut: F12 (I am using a non-Apple keyboard, but hitting the F12 button in this window registers just fine, so I don't believe that's the issue).
Click 'Add'

Doesn't work.

Message was edited by: par larsson

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Answer 6

par larsson Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 15, 2009 4:28 PM in response to par larsson

Well blimey.

Did the exact same thing twice, didn't work the first time, worked the second.

Hmmm....

The Usual Suspects:

Might have kept the Keyboard Shortcuts window, i.e. the System Preferences, open after registering the new shortcut.

Think I've had instances before where adding a shortcut or messing with the System Preferences that affected an open application/window did not immediately take effect, though haven't messed with this since 10.4 if I recall.

Originally tested both case-sensitive and non-case-sensitive Menu Item commands, neither worked, so pretty sure I didn't misspell or mistype the command, and almost positive that inputting new keyboard shortcuts does not demand case-sensitive perfection anyway.

Message was edited by: par larsson

Further investigation reveals that it is case-sensitive as 'move to trash' didn't work again. Maybe that's what I did wrong. Also turns out you can't have it both ways, i.e. a menu command can't have two possible shortcuts.

Message was edited by: par larsson

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,116 points

Mar 15, 2009 4:17 PM in response to par larsson

You need to select Finder for the application.
All Applications means try to find "Move to Trash" in the active application. However, if you selected an item in the Finder, it should be active.

The help file says you need to quit and restart the application, but I think that has been 'fixed' recently where you don't have to.

If you look at the Finder File menu, you should see the shortcut you created next to Move to Trash. If it is still cmd+backspace, then it hasn't registered.

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

Level 10

123,116 points

Mar 15, 2009 4:29 PM in response to par larsson

Originally tested both case-sensitive and non-case-sensitive Menu Item commands, neither worked, so pretty sure I didn't misspell or mistype the command, and almost positive that inputting new keyboard shortcuts does not demand case-sensitive perfection anyway.

I believe that is one of the improvements over Tiger, at least wrt the ellipses on some commands. You can now use three periods or the option+; and it will work. If you've found that case doesn't matter, that may be another hidden feature.

Edit: Just tried the case sensitivity thing and it didn't work. Must be correct case.

Message was edited by: Barney-15E

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