Scr3: Context-Menu for emptying trash is missing

[rdale]

I would consider this a feature; the trash is your last-ditch effort to recover files that you may have accidentally deleted. By keeping the trash "folder" collapsed, so that you don't see its contents, you should be able to maintain a tidy looking binder while still retaining a space that can be searched when a binder entry goes missing. And by making the emptying of the trash less accessible, you're safeguarding your work, and therefore, your time should you need to recover something.

If you habitually clear it out, then you're in danger of obliterating the only copy of something vitally important, and have made recovering of that file (or folder + many files) all the more difficult for yourself (project backups are then your ONLY recourse). Think of it as that physical wastepaper basket where crumpled typewriter pages would get tossed when an author's muse wasn't cooperating; they wouldn't haul it out to the recycle bin every time it has two whole pages of paper in it, would they? Be more like that old-fashioned writer--think of the trash as a recovering bin if that helps. Rename it* if that helps; "recovery bin", "manual un-do stack", "the oopsie basket".

Edit: Isn't there a toolbar icon for emptying the trash, that you can add? If it's really important for you to immediately and irrevocably delete a file/folder from the current copy of your project, then that should be an option...

* Not being at my Mac, I'm not sure if the Trash can be renamed; but since Draft and Research can be... I assume it's possible.

[devinganger]

But shouldn't the contents of that menu change depending on the context? If I right-click on the Trash, "Empty Trash" is one of the commands I would expect to see *at least there in that context*.

Perhaps I misunderstand how "contextual" is interpreted, or at the very least interpret it differently than you do.

Every title in the Binder has the same context.

Currently, yes, because Scrivener currently defines it that way. Context is defined by the program. The Trash folder is different than any other entry in the Binder. The code can easily recognize "hey, the selected folder is the Trash folder, so don't offer the Section Type, Label, or Status options but add the Empty Trash option" because it has been decided in code that the context is "this is a special folder, Trash," and acts accordingly to decide that the rest of these actions don't actually make a ton of sense applying to this folder.

[devinganger]

If you habitually clear it out, then you're in danger of obliterating the only copy of something vitally important, and have made recovering of that file (or folder + many files) all the more difficult for yourself (project backups are then your ONLY recourse). Think of it as that physical wastepaper basket where crumpled typewriter pages would get tossed when an author's muse wasn't cooperating; they wouldn't haul it out to the recycle bin every time it has two whole pages of paper in it, would they? Be more like that old-fashioned writer--think of the trash as a recovering bin if that helps. Rename it* if that helps; "recovery bin", "manual un-do stack", "the oopsie basket".

Right now, you're straddling that fine line of *dictating* a writer's workflow, rather than *enabling* a writer's workflow. By the same logic, we can dictate font size, tab stops, frequency and number of backups, and a whole host of other features. In fact, why don't we all just quit writing with software and go back to that typewriter and physical bin?

Some writers like to play with drafts and versions during a session. By the end of the session, the winners have been chosen and the remnants purged. They may purge those drafts often as they go. This is not a wrong way to work. It is not a

Not being at my Mac, I'm not sure if the Trash can be renamed; but since Draft and Research can be... I assume it's possible.[/size]

It can. Have accidentally done so.

[Bridey]

Joy in S3.0.1...

Empty Trash or Bernard.jpg (27.91 KiB) Viewed 631 times

[JnChristp]

Hej Keith,

just saw that you included a new trash-menu in the update to SCR 3.0.1. Great, thank you!

And keep up with your good work, greetings
JC

[KB]

Yep, when removing it, I had no idea that so many people like accessing that via the context menu (I always use the Project menu for it myself, because that means I don't even have to select the Trash folder after I've moved something to it). So I added it back for all those who do.

[se1961]

You are, always, a mensch. Thank you for writing a life-changing program, and maintaining it with so much generosity and respect. I am grateful and impressed.