Remove the erase disk option on the finder macOS Sequoia

Felixucop wrote:

I thought the same... I almost erased a lifetime of photos because of this stupid button placement!

I almost did a lot of things...not sure how that is relevant.

If you value your user data

3-2-1 Backup Strategy: three copies of your data, two different methods, and one offsite. 

More than one device, more than one backup methodology.

Simos805 wrote:

Updated to macOS Sequoia today and saw that when right clicking on a connected hard drive on the desktop, it shows the option to erase it under the eject option. I find it very very dangerous because it makes it very easy to click it by accident or even clicked by someone else (a child for example) and erase a drive with important content inside.

If you allow a child to be poking keys on the keyboard with administrator privileges, then I think you might be more to blame for whatever happens.

That said, I think everyone agrees with you here that placing eject and erase next to one another was a not optimal user interface design. dialabrain provided you with the link to use to contact Apple about this:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

Others have pointed out that you are preaching to the choir here because we aren't arguing this point with you. But none of the users participating in the Discussions have any authority to do anything about this.

Also, for fun I selected "erase" instead of "eject" and there then appeared a dialogue from which anyone who has mistakenly selected that option would immediately realize the mistake and opt out. Yes, maybe "erase" should be in red italics and at the bottom, separated from the other drop down options. But I have never heard of someone accidentally erasing a drive this way instead of ejecting it!

Placing the ERASE DISK option right beside the EJECT DISK option on the contextual (Right-Click) Pop-Up menu in Sequoia is very bad design execution. It will greatly increase the ExECUTION of a hard drive accidentally.

I EJECT disks all the time. I ERASE disks once a year MAXIMUM! Please move this WAY down the menu, if you must have it, or into the Quick Actions area (better) or just plain leave it off. Most folks know how to use Disk Utility app to erase and format properly.

I've been with you guys for a LONG time, but I seem to be seeing more STRANGE engineering choices from Apple these days - this one is a very serious "what the heck" situation, from my "actual user" point of view.

• Reinier, BrilliantEye.ca

P.S. complaint filed through official channels ;) If you don't like this feature let Apple know!!

Edit: this was supposed to be a reply to the person suggesting to use the terminal as a solution. I don't use the forums often and thought this response would appear under theirs.

These are your options:

I prefer Newest so I can easily see what has changed.

I think "threaded" was excommunicated when they went to a popularity contest instead of utility.

Your post has a link to the replied comment.

Why do you consider a solution that does not create consternation in your inability to click an item "rage bait." If you accidentally click the wrong item, just click cancel or hit return (the default on all data loss dialogs is cancel).

You could use that option to create a Shortcut with a Quick Action to put the Erase Disk command pretty much outside the Eject Disk solar system (computer-wise).

I thought the same... I almost erased a lifetime of photos because of this stupid button placement!

Simos805 wrote:

Updated to macOS Sequoia today and saw that when right clicking on a connected hard drive on the desktop, it shows the option to erase it under the eject option. I find it very very dangerous because it makes it very easy to click it by accident or even clicked by someone else (a child for example) and erase a drive with important content inside.

Is it possible to remove that option from this right click menu somehow? I also find it useless because most people don't erase their drives so often to need that option so easily accessible...

Then don't "right" click on the connected drive.

If you want to unmount, drag it to the trash can or use the Terminal.app

MacBook-Pro ~ % diskutil umount /Volumes/Untitled

Volume Untitled on disk3s1 unmounted

or even clicked by someone else (a child for example) and erase a drive with important content inside.

Those users should not have the ability to erase a drive. That sounds like a management problem that is easily resolved.

Placing Erase Disk next to Eject Disk is a really bad idea. I wonder how this got thru beta without any feedback. I like the idea of having the Erase disk option in the menu. It just needs to be placed far away from the most commonly used menu item Eject Disk. I hope Apple is listening.

I have never used the contextual menu to eject my drives. I hardly ever eject a drive. So, I never tested it. However, the Erase command right next to it doesn't bother me. It has a confirmation dialog.

If that bothers you, try this one: Drag your disk to the Trash.

seaandnature wrote:

This is so far from Apple's own Human Interface Guidelines.

Nobody pays attention to that, least of all Apple.

I cannot in the least understand how some here can defend something so obviously silly with arguments like 'then don't use it' or 'I don't use it, so neither should you'.

Defend? I spend all year wasting keystrokes lecturing people about how they don’t need to install every update the nanosecond it’s released. Then the “big update” shows up and people absolutely freak out when Apple changes something, or adds something, in the new operating system. You don’t like change? Don’t apply the update every year! Geez!

Does seem pretty odd. At least there's a confirmation dialogue (I assume, from Etresoft's comment, not one I'd be keen on testing!)

Rename showing and truncating the actual disk name is daft too - maybe that's been there a while but it just clutters the contextual menu without need.

Having had to boot into Big Sur earlier I was quite surprised by how much nicer the icons were, much the same as when the skeuomorphic ones got replaced by 'flat' ones.

The ecosystem is fantastic but the GUI seems to go backwards quite often for change's sake and nothing else.

Feel free to share your opinion with Apple.

Feedback - macOS - Apple

For me being a long time Windows user clicking the Right mouse button for the context menu is second nature. I will definitely be retraining my brain to use the drag to trash, Mac method.

Thanks for your concern. I assure you I'm still clear minded. Just don't want to be traumatized. 🤪

you shouldn´y have do it Yes drag to trash is ok, but then what are contextual ridght click options if nototo use them. Its fast when you are working.

bcouldn´t agree more.

Erase is a seldom/ used very very dangerous to have it right next to eject that maybe you use on a daily basis.

Apple PLEASE listen to users !!!