Version: (using KDE KDE 3.4.0) Installed from: Mandriva RPMs The desktop Trash folder can become very large. Holding items there for a few days gives a safety net, but it is too easy to forget to go back and delete items. Also, emptying the Trash gets rid of all files, so taking away the safety net. It would be nice if an Expiry period could be set, as in KMail.
I would only add that setting a space limit (in bytes) might be just as useful, or more useful than a time limit.
I think both of your suggestions are useful.
A space-limit would mean that the user has to go in and sort out which files should be deleted. That's no big deal for an experienced user, but I think that it would be very off-putting to a newbie. I imagine that the only way it could work would be to refuse to move the file if the Trashcan was full. What I was envisaging was files being deleted in order of arrival in Trash, and it happening automatically after a period of time. Whether that needs to be selectable, or whether it could be fixed, I'll leave to discussion. I suppose that the two ideas could be combined - when the Trashcan reaches a certain size the oldest inhabitants get deleted?
Just like C.Anne I don't think a space limit setting without further specification is useful. You have to specify what should happen when the trash folder achieves its space limit. I think the most meaningful option is to drop files by age, but as a matter of principle every attribute of files could make sense.
I like the way MS Windoze handles this. There is a space limit in the waste bin, and if you exceed it the files that have been in the waste bin longest get permanently deleted until the total size is below the limit again.
That sounds far the best way, to me. Age by the time in the trashcan is definitely preferable to age of the actual file. Is it do-able?
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 79553 ***