Sunday, November 22, 2009

Tip - Save time by disabling the "Confirm File Delete" message box

This tip is a potentially very useful time-saving tip for people who find they need to delete lots of files when re-arranging or tidying-up their folders/directories on disk. It could save you many hours over a year of computer use.
In Microsoft Windows Vista and XP, every time you press the delete button for a file in Windows Explorer, the "Confirm File Delete" message box pops up asking:
Are you sure you want to send 'Filename' to the Recycle Bin?

If you delete more than one file - say 3 files - then the message reads:
“Are you sure you want to send these 3 items to the Recycle Bin?”


There are two buttons in the box - a "Yes" and a "No" button. The default is the "Yes" one, so that if you press the enter key, then that has the same effect as pressing the "Yes" button. You can select the buttons either with the mouse or by pressing the "Y" or "N" keys.

You have to press one of the buttons, or dismiss the pop-up box with the Escape key. There is no way of responding to that message box with a "Yes, and I don't want this message repeated next time I delete a file".

Whilst this is a good safeguard from accidental file deletion, if you know what you are doing, then it can quickly become very tiresome to have to keep selecting "Yes" every time you delete a file/files. Also, if you know what you are doing and you accidentally delete a file/files, then you would probably know that you can always go to the Recycle Bin, select the files and restore them. (This is good "belts and braces" design built into Windows.)

So, how do you disable the pop-up box and just allow the file to be deleted?
If you become tired of the "Confirm File Delete" message box forcing you to take an extra step every time you try to delete something, then you can disable it quickly and easily:
   1. Right-click the Recycle Bin.
   2. Select Properties in the context menu.
   3. Uncheck the "Display delete confirmation dialog" checkbox.
   4. Click "Apply".
   5. Click "OK".
That's it!
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