Disable Trash/Wastebaket in Ubuntu Karmic

By default Ubuntu Karmic or more detailed the file manager Nautilus moves files which are deleted to a trash or wastebin like it is called in Ubuntu. Using external HDDs which are plugged in to other systems with different operating systems is kind of annoying cause the “deleted” files are moved to a folder named .Trash-. This was the reason for me to check out how to disable the wastebaket in Ubuntu Karmic for at least external HDDs.

I am used to think twice before deleting files cause I work a lot on the command line. So it is totally clear that when I delete one file it is gone or at least hard to recover. When I delete files in the GUI I even don’t want to have the files kept in a trash or wastebin like it is done in nearly all graphical environments from Windows to Gnome and KDE.

So please be aware: Using this configuration makes the files being deleted hard to recover. Only use this when you know what you are doing.

I found no way to disable the wastebasket in Karmic only for single HDDs or mounts so I disabled it for the whole system.

Go to “System > Appearance > Interface” and tick the option “Editable menu shortcut keys” as shown in the screenshot.

After that first step open one instance of nautilus, select one file or folder and open the edit menu. Then move the mouse over the delete entry and hit the delete key on your keyboard twice. The first hit removes the current shortcut key (SHIFT+DEL) and the second key press maps the delete permanently function to the DEL key.

I recommend to open “System > Appearance > Interface” again and untick the option “Editable menu shortcut keys” to prevent accidental remappings of keys.

The change is recognized instant. You don’t need to relogon to Ubuntu or restart Nautilus.