OneDrive Mac - local files delete immediately instead of move to trash

It doesn't' really matter if it's an Apple or Microsoft issues. All I know my files were going to my local recycle bin up until the last OneDrive update.

I sometimes delete many zip files after unzipping and then find that I need some back. I don't want to and shouldn't have to go to the web to do this. Plus I just noticed that the web version it missing the last 3 days (oldest file is 2/4/22 and it's now 4/7/22) of the files I deleted.

OneDrive should let you store your OD folder where you'd like (like it did before).

I just checked my recycle bin on onedrive.com and the last date was 2/4/22 and it's now 2/7/22 so where are the files I deleted after 2/4/22???

This makes this issues even more important to solve.

I have just checked my online recycle bin and nothing is going in there! Doesn't matter if it in OneDrive folder or located elsewhere on hard drive. Just deleted several files from different locations and the online recycle bin is still empty.

Hi FraserDon and all. It's likely Apple's fault with the new FileProvider model that OneDrive uses. Although I could see Microsoft wanting to force people into using the Recycle Bin in the web version of OneDrive. So maybe they chose to implement it that way. iCloud certainly allows trashing files.

Try this: delete a file you don't need and accept the Finder prompt so the file is deleted immediately. Then navigate to your OneDrive on the web. You'll find the file sitting there in the Recycle Bin. And you can restore it from there. For most of this, this is not the desired behaviour.

Workaround: Create a "To Trash" folder on your Desktop (which is not in OneDrive). Drag any files and folders to be deleted to "To Trash". Trash the files in "To Trash" as needed.

Automated workaround: I have done this and it works. Create two macros in Keyboard Maestro. (There may be ways to do this with other tools like Hazel). One macro watches the "To Trash" folder on your Desktop. Any time files are moved there they are automatically moved to the real Trash. The other macro only runs if the Finder is in the foreground. It responds to the Command-Delete keystroke and issues an AppleScript to move the selected files to the "To Trash" folder.

Please note: you might think you can do this with just the one macro and move the file direct to the Trash. But what will then happen is the file gets permanently deleted without warning. Presumably it's up in the OneDrive Recycle Bin--I didn't check.

One last thing. This solution, i.e. using a To Trash intermediate folder, loses the capability to "Put Back" whatever you've trashed, if that matters to you. The item(s) would just be put back into "To Trash". Instead you will have to manually find where the item(s) belong. Note that OneDrive's Recycle Bin does have "Put Back" capability, though the file will not be automatically re-downloaded even if you have selected Always Keep on This Device.