In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and softw ...
, the trash, also known by other names such as trash bin, dustbin, wastebasket, and similar names, is a
graphical user interface
A graphical user interface, or GUI, is a form of user interface that allows user (computing), users to human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through Graphics, graphical icon (computing), icons and visual indicators such ...
desktop metaphor
In computing, the desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users interact more easily with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the computer monitor as if it is ...
for temporary storage for
files
File or filing may refer to:
Mechanical tools and processes
* File (tool), a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece.
**Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing
** Nail file, a tool used to gentl ...
set aside by the user for deletion, but which are not yet permanently erased. This lifts the burden from the user of having to be highly careful while selecting files for deletion, since a trash bin provides a grace period to reverse unwanted deletions. The concept and name is part of
Mac operating systems
Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. in a succession of two major series.
In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the classic Mac OS with its release of the System 1, original Macintosh System Software. Th ...
; a similar implementation is called the Recycle Bin in
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, and other
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
s use other names, sometimes
ending with "-bin".
In the
file manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage computer files, files and folder (computing), folders. The most common Computer file#Operations, operations performed on files or groups of files incl ...
, the trash can be viewed by the user as a special
file directory
In computing, a directory is a file system cataloging structure that contains references to other computer files, and possibly other directories. On many computers, directories are known as folders or drawers, analogous to a workbench or the t ...
, allowing the user to browse the files and retain those still wanted before deleting the others permanently (either one by one, or via an "empty trash" command). It may still be possible using third party software to
undelete
Undeletion is a feature for restoring computer files which have been removed from a file system by file deletion. Deleted data can be recovered on many file systems, but not all file systems provide an undeletion feature. Recovering data witho ...
those that were deleted by mistake. In
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
macOS
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
, the Trash folder links to hidden folders on each mounted drive where the files are actually stored.
The duration for which files are retained in the trash bin varies depending on
implementation
Implementation is the realization of an application, execution of a plan, idea, scientific modelling, model, design, specification, Standardization, standard, algorithm, policy, or the Management, administration or management of a process or Goal ...
. They may be retained indefinitely until manually deleted, deleted after a fixed period, or deleted when the recycle bin exceeds a certain size.
Within a trash folder, a record may be kept of each file and/or directory's original location, depending on the implementation. On certain operating systems, files must be moved out of the trash before they can be accessed again. An operating system or file manager may remove trashed files from the file system once they resided in the trash bin for a certain duration, for example after 30 days on
Android, or once the trash bin grows to a certain size (see
§ Microsoft Windows). Unlike in conventional folders, a trash bin may be able to contain files with duplicate names, given that a trash bin acts as a layer before permanent deletion from the file system. An implementation may store trashed files using custom names and references back to their original name stored as
metadata
Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including:
* Descriptive ...
, and/or inside hidden subfolders with non-duplicate names on the file system, such as the subfolders inside the
$RECYCLE.BIN
folder
on Microsoft Windows. This is because the user needs to be able to trash any file that they would normally be able to permanently delete, including files with identical names stored in different directories.
[Android 11 has a hidden Recycle Bin for trashed photos and videos]
- XDA Developers (June 12th, 2020)[
Whether or not files deleted by a program go to the recycle bin depends on its level of integration with a particular ]desktop environment
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphi ...
and its function. Low-level utilities usually bypass this layer entirely and delete files immediately. A program that includes file manager functionality may or may not send files to the recycle bin, or it may allow the user to choose between these options.
History
Bill Atkinson
William Dana Atkinson (March 17, 1951 – June 5, 2025) was an American computer engineer, computer programmer, and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. Some of Atkinson's noteworthy contributions to the field of ...
began developing the Apple Lisa
Lisa is a desktop computer developed by Apple, produced from January 19, 1983, to August 1, 1986, and succeeded by Macintosh. It is generally considered the first mass-market personal computer operable through a graphical user interface (GUI). I ...
user interface in late 1978. In March 1982 he reached the stage of changing to an icon-based file manager, and produced a mock-up with a trash can icon (including buzzing flies) for deleting files. The release version of Lisa was launched in 1983 with a "Wastebasket",[ Apple Invents the Personal Computer. Again., 1983]
/ref> its icon "an alley-style garbage can ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is i ...
vertical lines to indicate a ribbed surface .... an open lid and a handle on the front of the can." Apple advertised "If you can find the trash can, you can run a computer."
Following this, the Magic Desk
Magic Desk was a planned series of productivity software by Commodore Business Machines for the Commodore 64. Only the first entry, Type and File, was ever released. It was introduced at the summer edition of the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show in ...
I ROM cartridge for Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
presented a primitive representation of office furniture, with a wastebasket or trash bin under the desk. This lacked functionality and was not taken further.
In 1983 Susan Kare
Susan Kare ( "care"; born February 5, 1954) is an American artist and graphic designer, who contributed graphical user interface, interface elements and typefaces for the first Apple Inc., Apple Macintosh 128k, Macintosh personal computer from ...
designed the core visual design language of Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...
System 1
The Macintosh "System 1" is the first major release of the classic Mac OS operating system. It was developed for the Motorola 68000 microprocessor. System 1 was released on January 24, 1984, along with the Macintosh 128K, the first in the Maci ...
, launched in January 1984. This incorporated some elements of the Lisa interface, including a refined version of the icon, now labelled Trash,
with "a closed lid with a handle on top."[ An ad supplement in '']Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' introduced the Mac interface, with its "pictures of objects you'll have no trouble recognizing ... Even a trash can." A subsequent update to Lisa renamed its Wastebasket icon "Trash".
In "International English
English is the concept of using the English language as a global means of communication similar to an international auxiliary language, and often refers to the movement towards an international standard for the language. Related and someti ...
" localizations of Classic Mac OS, Trash was named "Wastebasket".
In 1985, Amiga Workbench 1.0 was released. This took much inspiration from Mac OS, including trash bins. When formatting a floppy disk/hard drive partition, the user could select to add a bin to it. This would then appear as an icon titled "Trashcan" along with the other files. Users could drag unwanted files onto it and empty the bin later.
In early versions of the Macintosh Finder, Trash contents were in volatile memory, and were lost when the computer restarted. From 1987, if anything was in Trash its icon bulged as a reminder to check the contents before shutting down. Following the 1991 introduction of System 7
System 7 (later named Mac OS 7) is the seventh major release of the classic Mac OS operating system for Macintosh computers, made by Apple Computer. It was launched on May 13, 1991, to succeed System 6 with virtual memory, personal file shari ...
, the Trash folder retains its contents until the user chooses to empty the trash.[
The outcome of the lawsuit '']Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.
''Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation'', 35 F.3d 1435 ( 9th Cir. 1994), was a copyright infringement lawsuit in which Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.) sought to prevent Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard from using visual graphical user ...
'' (filed in 1988, decision affirmed on appeal in 1994) was that graphical user interfaces similar to Apple's did not infringe rights, but some features including Apple's Trash ''icon'' were original and protected by copyright. Non-Apple software could use other metaphors for file deletion, such as Recycle Bin, Smart Eraser, or Shredder.[
In 1993 or 1994, ]Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
implemented its first temporary deletion system in MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
6, under the name ''Delete Sentry'': When a file was deleted, it was moved to a hidden SENTRY folder at the root of the drive.
Microsoft introduced its current trash system in 1995, the ''Recycle Bin'', with Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft and the first of its Windows 9x family of operating systems, released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally to retail on August 24, 1995. Windows 95 merged ...
, as an area to store and review files and folders prior to deletion. At default settings, the Recycle Bin auto-deletion permanently deletes files to free up disk space when it gets low, or deletes files in the Bin over 30 days. In this version, the original location record of the file is stored, but the folder itself did not allow subdirectories. When a folder is deleted, its containing files are moved into the bin and mixed with other deleted files. The directory structure can only be restored if the batch of files is "undeleted". The current (revised) Recycle Bin allows for subdirectory trees to exist within folders that have been moved there. The icon shows a bin with a recycling symbol
The universal recycling symbol ( or in Unicode) is a symbol consisting of three chasing arrows folded in a Möbius strip. It is an internationally recognized symbol for recycling. The symbol originated on the first Earth Day in 1970, created ...
on its front.
With the new interface of Mac OS X
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
introduced in 2001, the Trash icon moved from the desktop to a permanent place at the end of the Dock
The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...
. The International English "Wastebasket" had been dropped at the end of 2009, making the name "Trash" standard. In keeping with the system appearance, the Trash was a shiny wire basket, until with OS X Yosemite
OS X Yosemite ( ; version 10.10) is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.
OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014, at WWDC 2014 and re ...
in 2014 it became a translucent white container. With macOS Mojave
macOS Mojave ( ; version 10.14) is the fifteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. Mojave was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4, 2018, and was released to the ...
, the Trash was renamed "Bin" in the Australian English localisation, and with macOS Catalina
macOS Catalina (version 10.15) is the sixteenth software versioning, major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. It is the successor to macOS Mojave and was announced at WWDC 2019 on June 3, 2019 and ...
, "Bin" also appeared in the UK localisation.
Implementations
Trash functionality is usually integrated into a desktop environment
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphi ...
and its file manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage computer files, files and folder (computing), folders. The most common Computer file#Operations, operations performed on files or groups of files incl ...
. Examples include:
* Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...
and macOS
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
, with Finder, as "Trash" (localised as "Wastebasket", later "Bin")
* MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
6.x, with Microsoft Undelete, as "Delete Sentry"
* Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, with Windows Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...
(later called File Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...
starting with Windows 8), as "Recycle Bin"
* GNOME
A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...
and MATE
Mate may refer to:
Science
* Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in:
** Mate choice, intersexual selection
*** Mate choice in humans
** Mating
* Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins
Pers ...
(Linux
Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
), with Nautilus
A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina.
It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...
and Caja, respectively
* KDE
KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...
(Linux
Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
), with Konqueror
Konqueror is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source web browser and file manager that provides World Wide Web, web access and file viewer, file-viewer functionality for file systems (such as local files, files on a remote FTP ser ...
and Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
* Xfce
Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.
Xfce aims to be fast and Lightweight software, lightweight whil ...
(Linux
Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
), with Thunar
Thunar is a file manager for Linux and other Unix-like systems, initially written using the GTK+ 2 toolkit and later ported to the GTK+ 3 toolkit. It started to ship with Xfce in version 4.4 RC1 and later. Thunar is developed by Benedikt Meur ...
* Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
, with Workbench
A workbench is a sturdy table at which manual work is done. They range from simple flat surfaces to very complex designs that may be considered tools in themselves. Workbenches vary in size from tiny jewellers benches to the huge benches used by ...
. The Professional File System
The Professional File System is a filesystem originally developed commercially for the Amiga, now distributed on Aminet with a 4-clause BSD license. It is a compatible successor of AmiFileSafe (AFS), with an emphasis on added reliability and spe ...
added trashcan-esque behavior at the filesystem level.
* Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a community-developed Linux distribution. It is based on Ubuntu and designed for x86-64 based computers; another variant is based on Debian which is named Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) and has both 64-bit and IA-32 support. T ...
with its default filesystem, Nemo,
* Android OS
Android is an operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen-based mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android has historically been developed b ...
since version 11, with a 30-day "grace period" until trashed files are removed from the file system.[
Some implementations may contain "shredding" functionality to counter ]data remanence
Data remanence is the residual representation of digital data that remains even after attempts have been made to remove or erase the data. This residue may result from data being left intact by a nominal file deletion operation, by reformatting of ...
.
Linux desktop environments
The KDE, GNOME and Xfce implementations comply with the freedesktop.org
freedesktop.org (fd.o), formerly X Desktop Group (XDG), is a project to work on interoperability and shared base technology for free-software desktop environments for the X Window System (X11) and Wayland on Linux and other Unix-like operatin ...
Trash specification, ensuring that any applications written with this specification in mind will be interoperable with any trash can implementation.
Although the various Linux desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE, and Xfce provide a trash mechanism, there is traditionally no simple way to trash something from the command line interface
A command-line interface (CLI) is a means of interacting with software via commands each formatted as a line of text. Command-line interfaces emerged in the mid-1960s, on computer terminals, as an interactive and more user-friendly alternati ...
. Some third-party applications, such as trash-cli, provide commands on the command-line to use the trash, compatible with the FreeDesktop.org Trash Specification.
macOS
Using macOS
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
, a file or folder is deleted in Finder by dragging its icon onto the Trash icon at the right hand end of the Dock
The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...
, moving the item into the Trash folder, where it can be viewed but not used until it is moved out again. To restore highlighted items from the Trash to their original position, a contextual menu brings up a Put Back option. The keyboard shortcut to move highlighted items to Trash, or Put Back items, is . To finally delete files, clicking on "Empty" brings up a warning that this cannot be undone, and an option to delete.
Putting items in the Trash folder moves them to a hidden temporary folder: for the boot disk, a user account has this at ; each mounted volume such as an external drive has a hidden folder in the root folder named . When viewing the device's available space the space occupied by the deleted files is shown as occupied. The Trash folder shows deleted files from external drives, including removable media. This does not apply to networked drives, where trying to move an item to Trash brings up a warning that it will be deleted immediately and this cannot be undone.
Since OS X El Capitan
OS X El Capitan ( ) () is the twelfth major release of macOS (named OS X at the time of El Capitan's release), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh. It focuses mainly on performance, stability, and security. Followi ...
, the Trash can be bypassed by pressing when a file is selected. Since macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (formerly known as and ), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to unify the operating syst ...
, the user can enable an option to have the Trash automatically empty after 30 days.
In UK and Australian English localisations, the Trash is known as "Bin".[
]
Apps and iOS
In several macOS apps and in the iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
mobile operating system, the Trash is within apps rather than in the system as a central feature. The standard icon for the Trash is a small version of the original Classic Mac OS trash can. Files are moved to a "Recently Deleted" folder within the app where they remain available for recovery for a stated number of days, then are automatically permanently deleted. Apps where this applies include Photos
A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. The process and prac ...
and Mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
. Files may still be recoverable if a computer backup was run before they were moved to "Recently Deleted".
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's ''Recycle Bin'' is implemented as a special folder
On Microsoft Windows, a special folder is a folder that is presented to the user through an interface as an abstract concept instead of an absolute folder path. (The synonymous term shell folder is sometimes used instead.) Special folders ma ...
with columns like ''Date deleted'' and ''Original location''. Typically only files deleted via File Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...
(but not necessarily other Windows graphical interfaces such as file selection dialogs) will be put into the Recycle Bin; files deleted via the Command Prompt
A command-line interface (CLI) is a means of interacting with software via commands each formatted as a line of text. Command-line interfaces emerged in the mid-1960s, on computer terminals, as an interactive and more user-friendly alternativ ...
are permanently deleted, as (by default) are files deleted via operating system API
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
s and applications other than Windows Explorer. Some operating system APIs do, however, allow applications to recycle files rather than delete them. In previous Windows operating systems and in MS-DOS, undeletion
Undeletion is a feature for restoring computer files which have been removed from a file system by file deletion. Deleted data can be recovered on many file systems, but not all file systems provide an undeletion feature. Recovering data with ...
was the only way to recover accidentally or intentionally deleted files.
As standard, the Recycle Bin only stores files deleted from hard drives, not from removable media, such as memory cards, thumb drives, or floppy disks, nor does it store files deleted from network drives. There are methods to make it work on network paths, however.
The Recycle Bin has a setting to configure the amount of deleted files it can store. Free disk space allocated for this is not actually used until files are deleted from folders and stored in the Recycle Bin. In versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...
, the default configuration of the Recycle Bin is a global setting for all drives to hold 10% of the total capacity of each host hard drive volume to store deleted files. For example, on a volume with a capacity of 20 gigabytes, the Recycle Bin will hold up to 2 gigabytes of deleted files. This can be changed anywhere from 0 to 100% of the drive space, but will not be allowed to exceed 3.99GB of space, even if the user-indicated % of the drive space is larger than 3.99GB. If the Recycle Bin fills up to maximum capacity, the oldest files will be deleted in order to accommodate the newly deleted files.[ If a file is too large for the Recycle Bin, the user will be prompted to immediately and permanently delete the file instead.
The actual location of the Recycle Bin depends on the type of operating system and file system. On older ]FAT
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers specif ...
file systems (typically Windows 98 and prior), it is located in ''Drive:\RECYCLED''. In the NTFS
NT File System (NTFS) (commonly called ''New Technology File System'') is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft in the 1990s.
It was developed to overcome scalability, security and other limitations with File Allocation Tabl ...
filesystem (Windows 2000, XP, NT) it is ''Drive:\RECYCLER''. On Windows Vista and above it is ''Drive:\$Recycle.Bin''.
The Recycle Bin can be accessed as an shortcut
Shortcut may refer to:
Navigation
* Rat running or shortcut, a minor-road alternative to a signposted route
* File shortcut, a handle which allows the user to find a file or resource located in a different directory or folder on a computer
* Key ...
from the desktop, by searching "Recycle Bin" in Windows Explorer, or by typing "shell:RecycleBinFolder" in the Run dialog box (). It is the only icon shown by default on the Windows XP desktop. When accessed from the desktop, the Recycle Bin options and information are different from those of the physical Recycle Bin folders seen on each partition in Windows Explorer
File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...
. From Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users a ...
onwards, with NTFS
NT File System (NTFS) (commonly called ''New Technology File System'') is a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft in the 1990s.
It was developed to overcome scalability, security and other limitations with File Allocation Tabl ...
, different users cannot see the contents of each other's Recycle Bins.
Prior to Windows Vista, a file in the Recycle Bin is stored in its physical location and renamed as .[ A hidden file called ''info2'' (''info'' in Windows 95 without the ]Windows Desktop Update
Windows Desktop Update was an optional feature by Microsoft that was included with Internet Explorer 4 (IE4, released in September 1997), which introduced several updated shell features to the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. These ...
) stores the file's original path and original name in binary format.[ Since Windows Vista, the "meta" information of each file is saved as and the original file is renamed to .
When the user views the Recycle Bin, the files are displayed with their original names. When the file is "Restored" from the Recycle Bin, it is returned to its original directory and name.][
In Windows Explorer, files are moved to the Recycle Bin in a number of ways:
* By right-clicking on a file and selecting delete from the menu
* Selecting the file and pressing the delete key
* Selecting delete from the ''Task pane'' in Windows XP
* Selecting the file and choosing delete from the File menu (in Windows XP Explorer)
* By dragging and dropping a file into the Recycle Bin icon
* From the ''Send To'' menu
* From a ]context menu
A context menu (also called contextual, shortcut, and pop up or pop-up menu) is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right-click mouse operation. A context menu offers a limited set of choic ...
command or some other function in a software application (usually configurable)
It is possible to bypass the Recycle Bin and directly delete a file by holding the SHIFT key while performing an action that would normally send a file to the trash.
Other uses
The 1984 original Mac and several of its successors (up to the 1987 Macintosh SE
The Macintosh SE is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, from March 1987 to October 1990. It marked a significant improvement on the Macintosh Plus design and was introduced by Apple at the same time as the ...
) lacked a (then prohibitively expensive) hard drive
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...
. Instead, the system ran from a floppy disk
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...
which could be ejected (), graying out its icon ('ghosting') and leaving its contents in memory, ready to transfer to another disk. In Classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...
, dragging the disk icon to Trash (shortcut ) directly ejected a disk (or CD) without leaving a grayed icon.[
]Mac OS X
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
removed the transfer option; dragging a disk or storage volume onto Trash converted the icon to the universal Eject symbol before unmounting and ejecting the disk or volume. This does not place the disk/volume in the Trash folder, nor does it erase the disk/volume.
The GNOME Human Interface Guidelines cite using a waste basket to eject a removable disk as an example of a metaphor taken beyond its reasonable use.
See also
* Xerox Alto
The Xerox Alto is a computer system developed at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) in the 1970s. It is considered one of the first workstations or personal computers, and its development pioneered many aspects of modern computing. It featu ...
* File deletion
File deletion is the removal of a file from a computer's file system.
All operating systems include commands for deleting files ( rm on Unix and Linux, era in CP/M and DR-DOS, del/erase in MS-DOS/ PC DOS, DR-DOS, Microsoft Windows etc.). Fil ...
* Data erasure
Data erasure (sometimes referred to as data clearing, data wiping, or data destruction) is a software-based method of data sanitization that aims to completely destroy all electronic data residing on a hard disk drive or other digital media by ...
* Temporary folder
In computing, a temporary folder or temporary directory is a directory used to hold temporary files. Many operating systems and some software automatically delete the contents of this directory at bootup or at regular intervals, leaving the dire ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Microsoft Knowledge Base article "How the Recycle Bin Stores Files"
User interface techniques
File system directories
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