The Trash
No single element of the Macintosh interface is as recognizable or as famous as the Trash can, which appears at the end of the Dock. It is, of course, the inspiration for the Windows Recycle Bin.
You can discard almost any icon by dragging it onto the Trash icon (actually a wastebasket, not a trash can, but let’s not quibble). When the tip of your arrow cursor touches the Trash icon, the little wastebasket turns black. When you release the mouse, you’re well on your way to discarding whatever it was you dragged. As a convenience, Mac OS X even replaces the empty-wastebasket icon with a wastebasket-filled-with-crumpled-up-papers icon, to let you know there’s something in there.
Tip
Learn the keyboard alternative to dragging something
to the Trash: Highlight the icon, and then press 
-Delete. This technique is not only far faster
than dragging, but it also requires far less precision, especially
if you have a large screen. Mac OS X does all the Trash-targeting
for you.
Rescuing Files and Folders from the Trash
File and folder icons sit in the Trash forever—or until you choose Finder→Empty Trash, whichever comes first.
If you haven’t yet emptied the Trash, you can open its window by clicking the wastebasket icon once. Now you can review its contents: icons that you’ve placed on the waiting list for extinction. If you change your mind, proceed thusly:
Use the Put Back command. This ...
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