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Is it by any chance possible to undo more than just a single action in Windows? Here's a very simple example of what I mean. I have created following two text files on the Desktop.
- New Text Document.txt
- New Text Document (2).txt
Now I select one of them and press DELETE button, followed by ENTER to confirm the move to the Recycle Bin. Then I do the same with the second file.
Now I change my mind and I want them both back. I want to undo these two actions and retrieve the two files from the Recycle Bin. So I click on an empty area on the Desktop to make sure it's in focus, and I press Ctrl+Z to undo the last action. The file that was last deleted is restored to the Desktop.
Now I want to get back the second file. I press Ctrl+Z again, and I only hear the system sound (Default Beep: "Windows Ding.wav") which indicates that it can't do it.
Why on Earth is Windows limited to only one single undo action? What's the argument for this? Is there some kind of security or stability concern? And more importantly, can this limitation be reworked without any actual Windows source code and rewriting Windows? I am not asking for unlimited undos like some professional Windows applications offer, but it would definitely be nice with at least 10 undo events.
I am using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit right now, but this limitation was present in Windows Vista Ultimate as well, and if I'm not mistaken, it was also present in Windows XP Professional. Most likely it was also present in Windows 2000, and Windows NT. Versions before that maybe didn't even have this option. If you know, please fill me in. I know for sure that the Recycle Bin has been part of the Windows environment since at least Windows 95. I don't know about the hotkey.
Samir
Posted 2014-03-23T23:31:40.703
Reputation: 17 919
This is just a trivial feature of the Windows desktop environment. But I feel like it should have been improved over the course of... what?... two decades? Are they afraid to run out of memory? Is that why they never changed it? M$FT, give us back the Start button and the Start menu, and increase the number of undo events to at least 100 for this time and age. Please? LOL! – Samir – 2014-03-23T23:40:18.607
GOOD NEWS!! I have Windows 8.1 on my work computer and apparently M$ has made a radical change here! I created 30 text files! On my desktop. Then moved them to Recycle Bin. I was then able to restore every single one of them, one by one, using only Ctrl+Z. Hurray!! I didn't really expect this. I was surprised to see it worked. But there you have it. It was about time. It took them only two decades. – Samir – 2014-03-24T08:07:02.997
I don't know what the limit is, but 30 undos is better than the stinking 1 single undo in Windows 7 and previous versions. So anyone who wants to add this enhancement the easy way, get a Windows 8.1 upgrade. You will loose the Start menu though. You gain some, you lose some. You can't have it both ways. That's too expensive for M$. – Samir – 2014-03-24T08:10:27.623
The question still remains though. What about the rest of us who use Windows 7? Is there a way for us to increase the number of undos, without upgrading the entire operating system? Windows 7 currently holds 47% of the market share while Windows 8.0 and 8.1 put together only hold 11% (Net Marketshare). – Samir – 2014-03-24T08:18:44.723
Actually, you can undo multiple actions: 1. Create a new text document. 2. Create another one. 3. Rename the first file to
a.txt. 4. Rename the second file tob.txt. 5. Press Ctrl+Z twice. This works in Windows XP, Vista and 7. As for the Recycle Bin, in Windows XP you could undo multiple deletions. In Windows Vista they decided for whatever reason to restrict the deletion undo/redo buffer to a single entry. The change was then kept in Windows 7. I don't use the Recycle Bin myself at all, but I guess others might not like this limitation. – and31415 – 2014-03-24T11:19:38.393