I am used to MS Outlook where I can press shift-delete and delete them permanently in one step. On my Mac, I am currently deleting mail which puts it in the trash folder then I have to go through it and delete them again to permanently get rid of them. There must be some short cut for the Mac that I don't know about.
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5)
You really don't have to go through the trash folder (unlesss you want to check it) - going to the File menu > Mailbox and choose to erase deleted items in all accounts (or use the key command shown).
According to http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4775 it appears not to be a recorded short-cut
You can always change the Mail Preferences - Accounts - Mailbox Behaviours to stop deleted messages being placed in Trash - could be risky as there is then no getting accidentally deleted messages back.
The key combination "alt command delete" results in bypassing Mail's trash and deletes immediately.
Came up with a very good workaround to this problem, as I have the same issue. (babowa does not answer your question, and Steve Dillon's solution no longer works.) I switched things around so that I only send messages I DO NOT WANT TO KEEP to the Trash mailbox, which I empty periodically. I then created a new mailbox folder (I call mine Read Messages). Once created, I select this mailbox folder and, from the menu bar, select Mailbox/Use This Mailbox As/Archive Folder. Any messages in my Inbox that I want to save are placed into the Archive folder using the Archive button (Mail version 8.2). Hope this helps!
how do I delete email messages permanently in mail on Mac OS x 7 in one step
