Trash in ExtraDock 5#

ExtraDock 5 distinguishes the native macOS Trash from its own virtual storage.

Native Trash#

Add Trash from the widget library when you want to interact with the Mac's real Trash; a dock can hold one. Clicking it opens the Trash in Finder, and dropping files on it moves them to the Trash even while the dock is locked. Dropping a volume ejects it. Its context menu offers Empty Trash and Open in Finder. Trash Options in the Items list has Ask before emptying and Show item count, both on by default.

Emptying from the dock asks Finder to do it, so macOS requests Automation permission the first time; without it, ExtraDock opens the Trash folder so you can empty it yourself. See Permissions in ExtraDock 5.

Virtual Trash#

The Virtual Trash widget provided ExtraDock-managed temporary deletion that did not use the native Trash folder. It has been retired from the widget library, so it cannot be added to a dock anymore. A Virtual Trash widget that is already in a dock keeps working: files dropped on it still move into ExtraDock's own storage, and you can still open its settings and empty it. Review its contents before emptying it.

Migration from V4#

The V4 Trash widget had native and virtual modes. During migration, ExtraDock 5 converts those modes to the corresponding native Trash item or Virtual Trash widget. A migrated Virtual Trash widget starts empty and keeps working even though it is no longer in the library.