No 'Empty Trash' Warning
 

On a clean install of OS X 10.3, or 10.3 Server (each now upgraded to 10.3.4) I do not get any warning when emptying my trash, yes the box to warn is checked in finder preferences, yes, I have tried deleting the .plist for Finder. I do get a warning when I try and use 'Secure empty Trash'

I know it is a small point, but it is annoying the hell out of me, and I would like the option to cancel before I erase things!

Is this just a bug in 10.3, because I'm sure I didn't have this problem in 10.1 or 10.2!

edit -- oops, I can't read. :o

What happens if you uncheck the preference checkbox, and then re-check it?

I've tried unchecking and checking the box (closing the preference window before altering it back) and still it has no effect I'm afraid. I've had this probem before and haven't yet found a way to fix it!

It's not a bug in 10.3, I can assure you. Please verify that in another account you are warned when emptying trash.

OK, in my normal day to day account, I have the 'Allow user to administer this computer' box checked in account preferences. I have created a test account (Without allowing that user to administer the computer) and I get the exact same result. No warning when emptying the trash.

Ah, the plot thickens. Are you using any Finder replacment software like PathFinder or some sort of haxie that replaces the Trash?

LOL Indeed it does, no I am using bog standard Mac Finder, no haxies installed, no tweaks applied! I've even tried re-installing to cure this problem, installed Mac OS 10.3 (with no updates) onto an external firewire drive, and still the problem persists!

Now THAT is weird. I know from other posts that you've been using OS X server, this isn't OS X Server (10.3) is it? This is 10.3 client, right?

I find it highly odd. I have the problem on 10.3 server AND Client. I've even gone down to the local PC store and played on their Macs (same model as this one but with less memory) and even THEY get the warning when trying to empty trash!
As a side note, the option in Finder preferences DOES take effect when I secure empty my trash,

The 10.3 client isn't authenticating or mounting it's user directory from the Server is it?

Nope, nothing like that. I could understand if it was inheriting a policy from somewhere else, but it isn't!

OK, let me put my Sherlock Holmes cap on..

So you clean installed Panther on an external firewire drive. Booted from that drive, and the first thing you did was try emptying the trash and you weren't warned?

Check the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist for the following entry:

Hey! I just discovered I have the same problem. This is on a Powerbook G4 with OS X 10.3.4. I verified the checkbox as indicated in the thread above, with no luck. I've had this thing for only a short while, and have installed various other apps, playing with and learning about OSX. So I wonder if my case is caused by something else...

I am a new-Mac user, so it never dawned on me that I should be seeing a warning until I saw this thread.

Yes, I have now checked the

<key>WarnOnEmptyTrash</key>
<true/>

and it is set to <true/> as you say, so I'm not sure where else to look!

With the "Show warning" thing checked, if you go to the Finder menu and look at the "Empty Trash" option, is it "Empty Trash" or "Empty Trash..." (note dot-dot-dot). Also, what shortcut keys are shown next to "Empty Trash"? Try pressing the Option key when *looking* at the "Empty Trash" menu option. Any change when you press/depress the Option key?

Not sure what any answers to these questions mean, but maybe it'll help narrow down where the problem is.

-Jesse

Yubbie 2 - I was wondering about this too.

Could I add that I've have never used the "do not warn" checkbox before, and the key mentioned above by yellow only appeared in my plist when I did use it.

And (at least on my machine) Finder reverted to "warn me" behaviour when I deleted the key. Assuming some kind of bug, users might be able to reset normal behaviour by simply deleting the key from the plist. (as usual, make a copy blah blah)

Deleting the key has no effect. Yes, There is a it is 'Empty Trash...' when viewed normally which changes to 'Empty Trash' when the option key is pressed. (Either way, still no warning!)

It seems to be a problem with Finder on this machine, I have installed PathFinder, and tried to empty the trash using that, and guess what, I get the 'Are you sure you want to empty trash?' message. Maybe it's time I ditched Finder for something else!

Hmm, that is so weird. Folks, what do think of this idea: what if ibroughton renamed the Finder.app and then copied Finder.app from another machine [assuming you have two with the identical OS installed]? Is it possible to try that, and/or is it too dangerous to mess with?

The weirdest thing about this is that you say it's from a clean install. Are Server and Client installed on the same machine? Could that fact be the independent variable we're searching for?

I also recall a tip on the main site about copying Finder.app and assigning different permissions to that copy, so that when you run it, it runs with root permissions [I think the tip said something about using different Appearance prefs when running Finder as root]. I'm wondering if running Finder as root would show different behavior.

That's all I can think of. What a bizarre puzzle.

Unfortunately, I don't have a different version to try. Yes, client and server are installed on the same machine, but Client is on an external firewire drive (but it makes no difference even if it is installed locally). I've tried running finder as root, but still no difference (and I can't see any extra options either I'm afraid)

Ahh! I had thought that it would be the other way around i.e on your system it would be 'Empty Trash' then 'Empty Trash..."

I have nothing to add to that except to ask whether after you had re-installed the system, you tested Finder before installing any non-Apple supplied software?

My thinking is that since Finder works fine on most people's systems, it has to be something unique about yours that's breaking Finder i.e extra software. I suspect that without doing a full reinstall and checking Finder after each app has been installed you are not going to find out what is causing the problem.

I've tried re-installing both versions, and still nothing doing!

If you have done a fresh install (not preserving any user prefs etc), then there can't be any software reason for what you observe. Hence it must be that your hardware is somehow allergic to that warning dialog !

It certainly seems that way! Such is life I guess!

Hmm, now that you mention this, I realize that my Trash also isn't prompting me, even though I have the pref checked. I'm not bothered -- I look at the Trash before I empty it, and don't actually need to be prompted, but it is odd and it's definitely happening to me in spite of my Finder pref settings.

It *may* be that I futzed around with my system and typed in some command-line command that affected this, maybe taken from a hint on this site, but I don't recall doing it. I can live with it, but that's just lucky for me, since it seems I don't get a choice. I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's a side effect of something else. Hey, here's a possibility: I have a Trash icon on my desktop, with a Folder Action applied to it [it moves files to the 'real' Trash automatically]. Maybe that's the culprit on my system.

Hmm, I see the warning for when I choose the 'Empty Trash...' item in the Finder menu, but not when I choose 'Empty Trash' using the trash dock icon. Is this it? This does seem like a bug to me, especially as it's easier to use the dock icon than it is to use the Finder menu (as the dock icon is available from any app, but you usually need to switch to get to the Finder)

Me, too! That's what's happening on my Mac.
 

Yup, I'd call it a design bug. If you select the preference "Show warning before emptying the Trash", you should definitely be warned.

ibroughton.

I'm sorry if I've dredged up a problem that has now been solved, or that you'd rather forget about, but your problem doesn't seem to have been solved, and a thought just struck me ...

... Mac OSX has several trash folders. One for each user, and one for each external volume (I believe).

So do all the trash folders on your system not show a warning - or is there some pattern here i.e if you throw an item from your user folder into the trash do you get a warning but not if it's an item from an external drive say?

Nope, my Trash in on the same drive, but ....
 

..., hmm, now that you mention it, I recall that I moved all my data from a previous Mac to this one, in the past. In my case, this could have something do with it. It may be a permissions thing. I'm not going to mess with mine rignt now, but you might want to double-check that your permissions are correct. I'd create a new user and compare its permissions to yours.

Of course, if you really did a fresh install and created a new user then, and already tested from that one, I'm out of ideas for now. I'll create a new user on mine some time later today and give that a try, if I get a chance.

"Hmm, I see the warning for when I choose the 'Empty Trash...' item in the Finder menu, but not when I choose 'Empty Trash' using the trash dock icon. Is this it? This does seem like a bug to me, especially as it's easier to use the dock icon than it is to use the Finder menu (as the dock icon is available from any app, but you usually need to switch to get to the Finder)"

I believe that is intentional.The theory is that if you are at the trash can you should know it and you have very easy access to see what's in the trash. If you are the top of the screen using the menu, you may have mis-clicked or slipped from where you want to be , so you should be able to elect to have the warning from that location.