I use the Obsidian application to take notes for my blog.
I have an experience I’d like to share in this post regarding the Mac OS system trash, as it relates to where Obsidian Delete Notes on Mac
Obsidian has a “Delete a Note” feature. To delete a note, select “More options…” → “Delete file” at the top right of an active note. If you don’t change the “Deleted Files” setting, by default, deleted files end up in the system trash for your operating system. This is where the problem begins.
At first, I thought Obsidian was dumping the note into the Mac OS Trash, which is usually found in the Mac OS Dock. However, the Trash is empty. Where does Obsidian dump the note?
It’s important to note that I didn’t install Obsidian on my Mac’s internal hard drive. I installed it on an external hard drive. This is where the problem lies.
Obsidian dumped the note into the system trash within that (external drive) volume.
Accessing trash within a volume
A. Open Finder
B. Go to Go > Go to Folder
C. Type the path to the specific volume’s trash folder, e.g., /Volumes/ExternalDrive/.Trashes/501/ (replace “ExternalDrive” with the actual volume name, and the number might be different)
D. Enter
There it is, a note that Obsidian has deleted. I deleted the notes manually.
You can also use the method above to check if an application you installed on an external hard drive dumped (deleted) files to the system Trash located on the volume where the application resides.