How To Enable Windows 10 Confirm Delete Dialog Box?

Many users including me were used to seeing the “Are you sure you want to move this shortcut to the Recycle Bin?” confirmation dialogue after deleting a file temporarily. But this handy feature is turned off by default in Windows 10. Here I will show you how to bring back the Windows 10 confirm delete using two simple fixes.

Why Enable The Delete Confirmation Dialogue Box in Windows 10!

The Windows 10 delete confirmation is a safety warning that pops up when you delete a file. It was added to prevent accidental deletion of important files. Instead of deleting the file immediately, you will be greeted with the “Are you sure you want to delete” dialog box.

When the delete confirmation box is enabled, you will see a confirmation dialogue asking if you are sure about deleting the file. If you changed your mind midway, you can prevent the deletion from completing by pressing no.

Note: You will still see the dialogue box when you permanently delete a file (Shift + Delete) by default. 

Bring Back Windows 10 Confirm Delete Dialog Box

Here I will discuss two methods to enable the confirm delete dialogue box.

# Method 1 (Recycle Bin Properties)

To enable the delete confirmation dialogue in Windows 10, the simplest method to do so is from the Recycle Bin Properties dialogue box. Here are the methods to enable the confirmation dialogue box in Windows 10.

1. From the desktop, right click on the Recycle Bin icon and select Properties.

Alternatively, in Search type Recycle Bin and press Enter to open the trash folder and right click to open the context menu, select Properties from there.

2. Under the General tab, below the Size allocation subsection, you will find a checkbox next to ‘Display delete confirmation dialog’

3. Check the box and click Apply.

Following this, Windows will now display the delete confirmation dialogue box when you attempt to delete a file from your storage.

However, some users have reported that the checkbox was grayed out when they tried to enable the delete confirmation in Windows 10. You can follow these steps to overcome that hurdle as well.

# Method 2 (Group Policy Editing)

If you too are facing this dilemma of the confirmation checkbox being disabled, here is a Group Policy tweak you can make to make sure Windows asks for a confirmation before attempting to move a file to recycle bin.

1. Open the Group Policy Editor. Type msc in a Run dialogue and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following path from the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor:

3. Locate and double click to modify the following Policy:
Display confirmation dialog when deleting files

4. Select Enabled radio button to enable the delete confirmation dialogue in Windows 10.

5. Save the changes and close the Local Group Policy Editor and Refresh the Desktop.

Enabling the policy changes the settings to always display the Windows 10 delete confirmation dialogue.

Conclusion

The delete file dialogue box is useful against the accidental deletion of files from your system. So, there you have it. Now you know how to enable the ‘Windows 10 confirm delete’ dialog box. Comment below if you found this post useful and discuss further on the same.