macOSXHints returns from holidays with a simple but great tip.

You can delete an email permanently by pressing the keyboard shortcut for “Cut” — Command-X — when the message is highlighted in Apple Mail.

Makes sense when you think about it, but I’d never thought of it before. It also saves a second trip to the Trash to delete the messages again when you are spring cleaning.

Check it out; and read Rob’s cautionary footnote.

UPDATE: As David Chartier wisely points out on TUAW, bypassing the Trash like this mean that when the email is gone, it’s really gone.

However, if you realise you’ve done a stupid thing, the “paste” key (Command-V) will return the message from the clipboard to the mailbox, providing that you haven’t placed something else on the clipboard in the meantime. Whew!

Tags: Apple Mail, email, keyboard shortcut, Trash

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 6th, 2006 at 2:14 am and is filed under Apple Mail, Apple Mail Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.