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Mokey D Luffy
Mokey D Luffy
Known Participant
June 11, 2018
Answered

How do I permanently delete photos from Lightroom Classic?

  • June 11, 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 48432 views

I swear that I have followed all of the different methods, tutorials, videos, and threads.  Yet, every time that I delete a photo from Lightroom Classic, it remains on my Hard Drive.  Sometimes, even when it specifically asks me if I want to delete it from the disk, it is still there.  This ends up with me doing a tedious cross referencing to figure out which photos need to be deleted from my Hard Drive, and which ones need to stay.

Please, if someone knows exactly how to make Lightroom delete photos from all parts of Lightroom, and my hard drive, please explain it to me as if I have no intelligence at all.  I appreciate your help.  Thank you.

    Correct answer Rob_Cullen

    how to make Lightroom delete photos from all parts of Lightroom

    In the LIBRARY GRID view- Select file/s in the Grid you want to delete, Press Keyboard [Delete], click [Delete from Disk  {D} ].

    Note: You cannot delete files from the Hard Drive if you are viewing photos in a Collection. (Delete here only removes them from the Collection. They remain in the Library catalog and on the hard-drive)

    delete it from the disk, it is still there.

    Possibly you have Imported the photo from the hard-drive using "Copy". And the file that remains on the Hard-drive is not the same one you deleted with Lightroom.

    4 replies

    R
    Renold24207841m60q
    Participant
    April 26, 2022

    LR has become a time consuming road map for non-pro's who don't have the time for this pile of useless whatever this is. Buy a Mac and use the built in OS. We are cancelling and outta here. Rediculous.

     

      jonw77
      jonw77
      Participant
      September 13, 2020

      Shift+Option+Command+Delete (Mac) will send it to Trash even in Collection....

        Rob_Cullen
        Community Expert
        Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        September 14, 2020

        This keyboard shortcut works, but not recommended for 'beginners'. Be aware- It would be possible to not knowingly have many photos (even the whole library) selected and this shortcut will 'wipe' them out - no questions asked, no dialog "are you sure?".

         

         

        Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
          Rob_Cullen
          Community Expert
          Rob_CullenCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
          Community Expert
          June 11, 2018

          how to make Lightroom delete photos from all parts of Lightroom

          In the LIBRARY GRID view- Select file/s in the Grid you want to delete, Press Keyboard [Delete], click [Delete from Disk  {D} ].

          Note: You cannot delete files from the Hard Drive if you are viewing photos in a Collection. (Delete here only removes them from the Collection. They remain in the Library catalog and on the hard-drive)

          delete it from the disk, it is still there.

          Possibly you have Imported the photo from the hard-drive using "Copy". And the file that remains on the Hard-drive is not the same one you deleted with Lightroom.

          Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
          Mokey D Luffy
          Mokey D LuffyAuthor
          Known Participant
          June 12, 2018

          WobertC, I will try to follow yours more closely.  These were imported from an SD card, so not from my hard drive.  I will say that I was attempting to do it while inside a collection, so I guess I need to try to grab them from All Photos?

          I am also marking photos as Reject first, which I thought would make this whole process a lot easier.

          Rob_Cullen
          Community Expert
          Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          June 12, 2018

          I am also marking photos as Reject first, which I thought would make this whole process a lot easier.

          Yes it does, for two reasons-

          1)  You have a chance to review all the files marked with the 'Reject' flag by filtering to be sure they are the ones you want to delete.

          2)  One keyboard shortcut will delete all rejected photos. Windows: [Ctrl+Backspace]  Mac: [ Command+Delete]

          I guess I need to try to grab them from All Photos?

          Yes, All Photos grid view, or a selected Folder (in the Folders panel)

          Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
          Mohit Goyal
          Community Manager
          Mohit GoyalCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          June 11, 2018

          Hi MokeyDLuffy,

          We're really sorry for all the hassle. Please refer the below video tutorial which can help you removing images from Lightroom catalog only Or deleting the images from the hard disk using Lightroom.

          Deleting Photographs in Lightroom - YouTube

          Let's us know if that helps.

          Regards,

          Mohit

          Mokey D Luffy
          Mokey D LuffyAuthor
          Known Participant
          June 12, 2018

          I watched that video before, and I am certain that I followed the instructions. 

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