Deleting Files and Directories

Every once in a while, some file or directory has outlived its usefulness. It is time to be ruthless and do a little cleaning up on the old file system.

As you've no doubt come to expect, there are several ways to get rid of an offending file or directory. The friendliest and safest method is to drag the file from Konqueror to the trash can icon on your desktop. For the novice, this is a safer method because items sent to the trash can be recovered until you take out the trash, that is. Until that time, you can click on the trash can icon and (you guessed it) a Konqueror window will appear showing you the items you have sent to the trash. These items can then be moved (or copied) back to wherever you need them. To remove files from the trash permanently, right-click on the trash can icon and click on Empty Trash Bin.

Note

Once you empty the trash bin, those files are gone forever.

I did say that there were other ways of deleting a file. From Konqueror, you can select a file or directory, right-click, and select Move to trash. Notice that there is another option on the menu, labeled simply Delete. If you are absolutely sure you don't want this file hanging around (even in the trash bin), select Delete from the menu or press <Shift+Delete>. The file will be gone for good.

Note

To really and truly delete something, shred it. You do this by selecting a file and pressing <Ctrl+Shift+Delete>. This writes random bits of garbage over the file before deleting it.