- The recycle bin hasn’t changed much in a while. However, it has different settings that many users are unaware of.
- We can customize it to work in the way that suits us best and best of all, getting it is too easy.
One of the things that has changed quite a bit over the OS versions is the recycle bin. It is where the deleted files are stored until we want to empty it to delete them permanently. However, we can find different configurations for the paper bin from recycling in Windows 11.
Settings for the recycle bin in Windows 11
Increase or decrease trash storage
One of the settings for the recycle bin in Windows 11 that is very useful is to limit the storage space. Trash is automatically set to a certain percentage of partition size in order to store files that we delete. Older files are automatically deleted when space runs out, leaving newer ones.
Therefore, setting a custom size can allow us to keep a larger number of deleted files, something that comes in handy when we realize too late that we have deleted one or more important ones.
In order to change the amount of space we will have to right click on the Recycle Bin and choose Properties. Then we will click on Drive C and look for the Maximize size field.
Next, we will need to define a specific size in MB. Remember that 1 GB is equal to 1024 MB. So we will have to calculate the space in this way; we will have to be careful not to provide too much storage, because we may end up with a disk with little space.
Delete files permanently without putting them in the trash
Perhaps we do not want certain files to go through the recycle bin and directly be deleted forever. For this we will have to use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Del (Delete) and the file is permanently deleted.
Another option is to change the trash can settings. For this we are going to go to its properties by right clicking on it. We will check the option “Do not move files to the Recycle Bin”.
Enable confirmation before deleting files
Keeping confirmation enabled before deleting files is important, it helps us avoid deleting some files by mistake. Especially if we have changed the settings of the trash can so that it does not save them.
For this, we are going to right click on the trash can icon and choose Properties. Now we check the box that says “Show delete confirmation dialog”.
Automatically empty the trash
Another interesting option is the possibility that the trash can be emptied automatically. We can configure the Storage Sensor to empty it every 1, 14, 30 or 60 days. For this we will go to Settings by pressing Windows + i. Then we go to System> Storage Storage sensor.
We look for the option called Delete files in my recycle bin if they have been there for more than and we will choose the time we want. The default value is 30 days.
