Warning before major deletion

[theseus75]

I know we get far too many "are you sure?" warning nowadays for something as mundane as allowing an app we said to run, but I'm a little concerned that I'll fat-finger someday and accidentally delete a directory in one of my projects. When a directory in the binder is highlighted, one need only hit the delete key for it to be gone forever (at least, I think it's forever).

This scares me a little, since I - like most people - don't backup the way that I should. Perhaps a warning before deleting any directory in which there's documents that contain anything would be appropriate here.

Thanks.

[matt]

Everything that gets deleted goes into the 'Trash' folder. You can just drag it back out of there to recover the work.

To delete something completely, you need to choose to empty trash as well, which is not likely to happen accidentally.

[theseus75]

Aha! I didn't know that, and that will be very helpful if ever I make the mistake of accidental deletion. Good to know. Thanks!

[KB]

This just goes to show that no one reads the help files. I don't know why I'm surprised, given that I never read help files. I must have assumed that everyone else was better than me in this regard. To whit:

From the Scrivener tutorial, under "Step 1: Beginnings":

The “Trash” folder speaks for itself; whenever you delete a document it ends up there. Documents aren’t deleted completely until you select “Empty Trash…” from the File menu. (This means you can’t accidentally destroy your files by, for instance, hitting the Delete key by mistake—if this ever happens to you, you will find your files in the Trash folder ready for rescuing.)

From the Help file, under "The Main Interface" section of "Getting Started":

Trash: When you delete an item in the binder, it is not really deleted but just moved to the Trash folder. You can drag items in the Trash folder back into the main binder, but you cannot create new items inside the Trash. To empty the Trash, select Empty Trash from the File menu. This will permanently delete all items inside the Trash folder (and cannot be undone).

From the FAQ that appears both in the Tips & Tricks & FAQ section of this forum and in the Help file:

I accidentally deleted a file in the binder and undo doesn't work! How can I get my work back?
Relax. It's in the Trash folder in the binder. Scrivener doesn't permanently delete anything until "Empty Trash" is selected from the File menu (which will ask you to confirm the action as it is permanent). Just drag the file out of Scrivener's Trash folder back to where you want it.

And yet this is still probably the most common complaint/question I get... The solution? The next update requires you to hit cmd-delete rather than just delete to move a file to the trash. (And if after the update comes out anyone e-mails me to say that hitting delete should move files to the Trash, I will murder them. )

All the best,
Keith

[vic-k]

Cap`n Keef!!
Don`t be mean, let Druid kill some ov `em!!

rat

[AmberV]

I predict the shortcut in Scrivener 2.5 will be Cmd-Opt-Ctrl-Shift-Fn-Delete.

I think I am the only person that reads help files. Has anyone read the PDF for EagleFiler? Beautifully written, and in LaTeX, too. Now the BBEdit manual, never made it all the way through that one; 'twas a monster!

[matt]

I think help files would be better if they had more action scenes.

You know, our masked hero, the developer, slashing the throats of our villains, the users.

I never read help files either. Most of the time, if an application is worth using, most of it will come intuitively. I use them as a reference, to lookup how to do something if I am struggling, but I very rarely read them.

That being said, I have read Scrivener's in its entirety, because I knew there was a lot of stuff it could do that I hadn't even thought about. Never even downloaded EagleFiler, let alone read its help file. Maybe I should though, before I properly write my own...

[Jaysen]

. Maybe I should though, before I properly write my own...

As you yourself said, a good app really doesn't require a manual for most functions. And seeing that the only person that seems to read manuals are the authors, AmberV, and Antony, wouldn't it be better to work on more features?

All snarkyness aside, I agree with your premise that a decent user app should be intuitive. Maybe that should be a philosophical basis for a manual:

This app uses standardized methods for edit function, text editing, file manipulation, etc.. As such this manual is limited to those functions and features that are unique or differing from the standard. Please use the gray matter between your ears.

You probably want to word it differently if you adopt that line of reason. And you would need to make allowances for those with green matter and no gray matter. Otherwise vic-k will be lost.

[KB]

Oh, just to clarify: I wasn't trying to be mean to original poster at all! I was just saying that a lot of people have complained about this even though it's mentioned in all those places, and that it probably would have got me too, had I not programmed it, given that I never would have bothered looking in those places either. Hence the change...
All the best,
Keith

[Typo]

(And if after the update comes out anyone e-mails me to say that hitting delete should move files to the Trash, I will murder them. )

No, you'll get hundreds of mails from existing users. "Keith, delete doesn't work anymore! I press backspace as hard as I can! Fix it! Quick!"

Feel free to murder those, too.

[vic-k]

Cap`n Keef,
im confyoosed now! will druid get two kill `em as asks daft cwestyens or not
rat

[antony]

This just goes to show that no one reads the help files

I did warn you

[antony]

To no-one's surprise, I read documentation too. Oh, for a life.

[Jaysen]

To no-one's surprise, I read documentation too. Oh, for a life.

Fine. Be that way. Make me and vic-k look like the delinquent ones. It just goes to show you… Wait, I think we are the delinquent ones. Ummm … never mind.

But I ain't editing that post for any more manual readers. You people are just weird.

[vic-k]

To no-one's surprise, I read documentation too. Oh, for a life.

Make me and vic-k look like the delinquent ones.

I would like to take this opportunity to point out that: unlike the half-brain, but just like antony, I too read the documentation. However, unlike antony, I don`t understand it!! I need documentation, that explains the documentation, that explains the documentation that explains the documentation that explains...
vic