Recycle Delete for 32-Bit Windows

Title:

Recycle Delete for 32-Bit Windows

Language:

C++

Author:

Philip J. Erdelsky

• pje@efgh.com
• http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~pje/

Date:

February 9, 2001

Usage:

Public domain; no restrictions on use

Portability:

C++ Compiler for 32-Bit Windows

Keywords:

Directory, Windows

Abstract:

A small utility which can be called from a DOS window in 32-bit Windows to delete a file and send it to the Recycle Bin.

Source:

rdel.txt

Many users of Windows 95, 98, NT, ME and 2000 do a lot of work in DOS Windows. The standard DEL command doesn't retain deleted files in the Recycle Bin. This utility does.

The utility is compiled from the file RDEL.CPP to RDEL.EXE. Borland C++ was used for this purpose, but Microsoft Visual C++ should work just as well. The file RDEL.EXE should be put into a directory containing other DOS utilities such as C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.

To delete one or more files, just type RDEL, followed by the specifications of the files to be deleted. Use an ambiguous file specification (one that contains asterisks or question marks) to delete all matching files. For example, the following command deletes all files with extensions BAK and TMP in the current directory and sends them to the Recycle Bin:

     RDEL  *.BAK  *.TMP

The RDEL utility lets you put more than one file specification on the same line. It also shows you the specifications of the files being deleted.

The RDEL utility is noticeably slower than the standard DEL command.

CAUTION: The deleted files are sent to the Recycle Bin only if there is a Recycle Bin for the disk on which they reside. Hard disks usually have Recycle Bins; other disks usually do not.