P: Delete Images on Card after Import

I will point out three things here:

1) Many individuals have made assertions here about why Lightroom allows Move functionality for files from every source except an SD card, but there is no evidence that any of them have any knowledge of what Adobe thinks about the idea.

2) It is not at all relevant what camera manufacturers say about formatting SD cards. The suggestion is about deleting files, not formatting cards.

3) I personally have lost photos because I erased the images from the SD card after a partially unsuccsssful copy to HD. How am I supposed to check that the copy is fully successful? Look at every one of 500+ images on both SD and HD and manually compare the metadata? Lightroom knows whether the copy is complete and successful; for image sets of non-trivial size, there's no reasonable way for the photographer to know. 

Thus, allowing this option (a configurable choice to Move rather than Copy files from SD cards, with Lightroom verifying the copy before deleting the files) not only would allow for a more efficient workflow, it would allow for a safer process of moving images from SD cards.

Point 2 - I guess I'm taking a gamble here but really see little advantage in keeping NEF file as well as DNG. Everything I would wish to do in terms of editing and image quality seems to be more than fine with DNG and trust that Adobe DNG is just as likely to maintain longevity as an NEF file. Correct me if im wrong here

Problem is DNG conversion and improvements to the DNG conversion. If the latest greatest DNG conversion comes out that solves all of life's problems, but you no longer have the RAW. Your up the creek.

The RAW is the original, it is your negative. A conversion from RAW to DNG is a copy. Oh it is a lot better than say exporting the RAW to a JPEG, then thinking great I can dump the RAW (Bad, very very bad) but it is still dumping the original material that you might one day decide to convert all over again.

You are perfectly happy with your current results. You have no plans to ever work on that RAW file again. You can edit that DNG file as much as you like. That DNG file will continue to be supported. Fine, but what if something changes your mind? What if Adobe makes a breakthrough with NEF to DNG that changes everything. What if Adobe adds some niffy new feature in the NEF to DNG conversion, What is you just decide, to change your mind about the initial NEF to DNG.  NO RAW, no new conversion.

I would not through my RAW files out anymore than I would throw out my 35mm negatives on my old SLR.

Just wondering if i have missed something importing files into LR classic - I usally import from memory card and copy as dng into LR, saving the files on hard drive. Is there a way to import as DNG and remove the files from SD card at the same time ie saving me having to go back and delete the files from the SD card - no big issue but seems strange that it is only possible to copy and convert to DNG - would be good if there was an option to erase originals whilst doing this import?

Note that the previous eight comments (all dated today, Oct 31, 2023) were imported from a separate idea post, so not all of their content will fit in with this idea and its previous comments. Might be confusing to read, but the main premise of the two ideas seem very similar. Pretty disheartening to see this request out here for a dozen years, though...

Adobe probably is taking a precautionary approach in that until a backup of the photos exists, deleting them from the SD card is a risk. Mind you, as such, they should not have that Move option in import, as move is hazardous. 

Now I did not read all the reply's in the above old posting, so my remarks are probably already in the thread.

P.S. would not the Move option in import accomplish most of what the author desired?

I need this option. I just switched to lightroom from Aperture in 1/2023. I have been "deleting on import" for a decade with aperture and have never a problem while importing 500,000 images. I have two memeroy cards in my cameras with idenetical info if there is a problem. I also make copies to another drive at import. This is because I use multiple libraries or catalogs. I will know what has been imported when I switch to another catalog.  I have 2 catalogs because 20tb drives are not large enough to hold my images. I need two atleast 2 catalogs. I am stunned to see Lightroom does not have this.

It is a very easy, and pretty safe procedure for a computer to verify the integrity of a copy/backup. An automatic process, which imports the pictures (copies them to the working drive), makes a backup copy (or even two, if you wish) and after that does an integrity check (re-reading the backups and original, comparing them), and after that, if all goes well, removes the original is much safer than manually deleting/formatting. 

Deleting anything without being sure that the backups are in place is tempting fate.

I am pretty confident that very few of the pro-manual delete arguers ever did an actual integrity check on the backed up pictures before purging the originals . Even if you open them, most viewers will use the built in previews, not the actual raw data, so your file could look all good, while being actually cripled, ending up with a jpg quality picture of your award winning raw file. 

But anyone who feels like being more precise and reliable than a computer, could keep not using this feature.

I am only using lightroom for a mere 12 years, but operating national telco and railway company service databases for 22 years, so I'd assume I know this or that on backing up data without loosing it.

But I understand those, who are confident enough to prefer formatting their wedding shot after a long day and a tiring drive home because they connected the wrong memory card. I'd just like to have the _option_ to avoid that, on my own risk.

Many of us think we are the super computer users who never make a mistake, and know that our computers are infallible. And in this fast-moving computer world we are always looking for ways to cut steps and save time. After all, it does take a few seconds and format the card in the camera following an import. And you probably could have performed a few editing steps in that much time. As long as you never make a mistake, and EVERY import goes as expected, having your images deleted following a successful import would be a time-saving step to have. But what if something happened after you came home from a wedding shoot. The import didn't go as it should have, Lightroom didn't detect it, and the images get deleted. But that will never happen. Really? Well, it did happen to me. Okay, maybe I'm not the skillful Lightroom user that you are. I have only been using Lightroom since version 2. Don't know what happened. The import simply failed. Luckily, the images were still on the card. You might want to tempt fate, but I don't.

- Why would it be any safer to manually delete images _after_ importing + backing them up (which Lightroom can do already), than doing it automatically?

That answer should be (should be...) rather obvious; it is safer FOR Adobe!

Can Adobe delete images after import? Sure they can. Will they? Well no, for some of the reasons I expressed two days ago, prior to this request being merged with a 10 year old request that still hasn't been addressed. Nor will it (again, I can be proven wrong but with 10 years in this thread behind me, and nearly 30 years working with Adobe, I'm willing to eat crow if I have to). 

Can users find automatic ways outside of Adobe to automatically delete images of a card after import? Yes. And then, if something goes wrong, it is totally THEIR fault, not Adobes. 

Adobe doesn't provide razor blades to children and then allow them to play on the highway!

The answer to your question is simple, again, it is safer for Adobe. And that is why, after 10 years of this, the request has gone nowhere. 

- if Adobe is so keen on protecting us and our precious photos, then why would Lightroom _do_ delete imported pictures from a CFast card, even if the backup drive was not online and so the automatic backup during import have failed. 

That isn't a question nor a statement that is factual so like others as you suggest, I'll ignore it. If you have a 2nd question, do form it as a question.