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You're not the first person to point this out. Indeed, we at Yorba think
that the whole thing could be clearer too -- we even have a feature
request
on this topic here: http://redmine.yorba.org/issues/2645.
First, a few things to keep in mind. Shotwell has the notion of a
"library
directory," which is the folder on disk where the photo files in
Shotwell's
library are stored (provided you selected the default "Copy to Library"
option when you imported the photos). Second, Shotwell has its own
Wastebasket that is separate from the system Wastebasket. When you
select
some photos in Shotwell and then press the "Delete" key on your
keyboard,
the photos are moved to Shotwell's private Wastebasket. While the photos
change locations within Shotwell, the location of the photo files on
your
hard disk does not change. In particular, Shotwell does not move the
photo
files into the system Wastebasket on your desktop. The photo files stay
right where they were -- in your library directory. Now, let's say that
after a few hours of using Shotwell, you've reached the point where
you're
really, really, terribly sure that you do actually want to delete the
photos in Shotwell's private Wastebasket. In this case, once again,
"delete" means "delete from Shotwell" and not "delete the actual
photo file
on disk." To do this, in Shotwell, you switch to the Wastebasket page
and
click the "Empty Wastebasket" button. At this point, you will have
deleted
the photos from within Shotwell, but this says nothing about what
happens
to the actual photo files on disk. So Shotwell asks you "Do you want to
move the file(s) to the system Wastebasket?" This question pertains
to the
photo files. If you say yes, the photo files will be moved from your
library directory into the system wastebasket. If you say no, the photo
files will stay put in the library directory. Either way, the photos
will
be deleted from within Shotwell.
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