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I want to use only the delete key in order to delete files in Finder — no key combinations.

So far, I have been unable to find a configuration entry or even a 3rd party app that allow me to change the default behavior of OSX.

I'm using several systems, and OS X is only one of them. Having some consistency is great. I really want that behavior as it seems straightforward to me that the delete key actually delete.

Does someone have a solution?

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but the delete key is really the backspace key.. so does it really make sense to have it delete things? – Dan-o Feb 1 at 5:57
On my keyboard, both what is equivalent to backspace and delete key on a PC are labeled delete (this is an apple keyboard). – deadalnix Feb 1 at 6:05
Ah. I've a macbook pro and it only has a single key labeled "delete" - but it actually performs the backspace function. – Dan-o Feb 1 at 17:37

1 Answer

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This would make forward delete (fn+delete) move files to trash:

defaults write com.apple.finder NSUserKeyEquivalents -dict-add 'Move to Trash' '\U007F'

It also makes ⌦ move files to trash when renaming files though. The same method doesn't work for delete (⌫).

You could also use KeyRemap4MacBook to change ⌫ to ⌘⌫ in Finder, but it would make renaming files and editing text even more difficult.

Even if you could change it in Finder, there would still be other places where just delete wouldn't work.

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This is clearly a step forward, even if the drawback is quite important. Before I set this up, how can I undo it (if the drawback ends up worse than the problem) ? – deadalnix Feb 1 at 8:31
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Run defaults delete com.apple.finder NSUserKeyEquivalents and relaunch Finder. – Lauri Ranta Feb 1 at 8:48

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