Delete a file immediately and other matters

rm -f

Taking fane_j's idea a step further, you could create an Automator app that uses Run Shell Script to invoke rm -f, then you could have a drag and drop app that deletes the files you drag onto it.

NOTE: There is no recovery from rm -f

Or extening on the automater theme you could also make a service so that you could click on item(s) in the finder and use a contextual menu to delete the item(s) (rm -rf for directories).

…And, of course, if an Automator workflow is saved as a service, one can even assign a keyboard shortcut to it.

But, as BobHarris pointed out, one cannot warn enough -- rm cannot be undone.

Here's an AppleScript using rm -- feel free to use it as needed. It works both as a script and as a droplet. It should be fairly safe -- it cannot delete locked items and items for which you do not have permissions -- but it might not work as expected with files or folders with Finder names in CJK and RTL languages.

--script begins

on run

tell application "Finder" to set deleteList to selection

display dialog "You are about to destroy the selected items." & return & return & "This operation CANNOT be undone. OK to proceed?" buttons {"OK", "Cancel"} default button 2

my delFiles(deleteList)

set {x, k} to result

my delResult(x, k)

end run

on opendeleteList

display dialog "You are about to destroy the selected items." & return & return & "This operation CANNOT be undone. OK to proceed?" buttons {"OK", "Cancel"} default button 2

my delFiles(deleteList)

set {x, k} to result

my delResult(x, k)

end open

on delFiles(deleteList)

set x to count of deleteList

set k to x

repeat with i in deleteList

try

do shell script "rm -fR " & quoted form of (POSIX path of (i as alias))

on error

set k to k - 1

end try

end repeat

return {x, k}

end delFiles

on delResult(x, k)

if x = k then

display dialog "All selected items deleted" buttons {"OK"} default button 1

else

display dialog "Deleted " & k & " of " & x & " items selected." & return & return & (x - k) & " items could not be deleted." buttons {"OK"} default button 1

end if

end delResult

--script ends

Guy Burns wrote:

all of which I don't know much about.

Then perhaps it's a good idea to look into them first; after all, there is no undo for rm, and you want to make sure what's going to be deleted.

For Automator, try this page

<http://www.macosxautomation.com/automator/index.html>

For AppleScript, the manual is here

<http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/AppleScriptLanguageGuide.pdf>

For Terminal, try this

<http://guides.macrumors.com/Terminal>

What is the difference between that command and the "rm -f " mentioned in the various posts?

Most programmes you use in Terminal, if properly installed, have a basic manual (manpage in Unixese). So, in Terminal, the command

man rm

will give you a description of what the rm does, its syntax, and available options. In this instance, -f means 'force', ie, delete the file without any prompting, and -R mean 'recursive', ie, if the target is a directory, remove it and everything in it. As to sudo, again, man sudo will give you the gory details.

What are the steps required to use "rm -f " in Automator?

You need to have another action first, to pass on the selected files to rm.

how do I turn that Automator workflow into a Service

You do that before building your workflow, by choosing the Service template.

then invoke the Service with a keystroke?

System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Services

However, I warn you to think long and hard before you do this. Remember, rm cannot be undone -- choose the wrong file and use the shortcut, and it's gone forever. I wouldn't do that on my Mac; ⌘⌫ and ⇧⌘⌫ are good enough for me.

Q1: I have been using "sudo rm -R " in Terminal to remove stubborn files. What is the difference between that command and the "rm -f " mentioned in the various posts?

When using the 'rm' command think of it as you would when using matches. We are taught at a very young age to be careful with matches and fire. No one teaches you at a young age about the 'rm' command.

rm -f says as long as you have write access to the parent directory AND you either have permissions to delete the fle or you own the file being deleted, the 'rm' command will not annoy you with trivial little things like, do you really want to do this. Also the -f will not cause rm to issue any error messages if for example the file you specify does not exist.

rm -R is a bit more dangerous. More like using a blowtorch, in that if you specify a directory to be deleted, it will walk down that directory tree and delete everything it has permission to delete. So you want to be very careful where you point that blowtorch. For example if you were to point at your home directory you would be very unhappy to loose everything you care about.

sudo rm -R is more along the lines of a Flamethrower! By default, sudo gives you absolute permissions to delete anything anywhere on your system. If you were have a 'typo' or point at a system level directory, you would totally hose your entire system. All your work gone, unless you have a recent full backup. sudo rm -R (or sudo rm -r) is one of the most dangerous command in the Unix environment.

And putting rm into a script that blindly does what it is told, just adds a Nuclear option to the 'rm' command. By blindly, I mean a script that does not sanity check what is passed as arguments, by making an attempt at refusing to delete stuff it shouldn't.