# Lightroom 5 does not delete from hard drive?



## rjsphoto (Apr 10, 2014)

In lightroom 4 when I selected 'delete' I was given the choice to delete (remove) from Lightroom or also delete from the hard drive (moving image to trash) .
Now (lR 5) the drop down does not offer any option to delete from the drive.???  
Was that choice taken away or am I missing how do do it?


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## BobMc (Apr 10, 2014)

Check that you are deleting the master and not a Virtual Copy. The action you describe is exactly what you should expect if the item deleted is a VC.


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## rjsphoto (Apr 10, 2014)

BobMc thx for replying I checked the image and it is not a vc.  I am deleting while editing right after importing.  The old LR4 delete would delete the original from the hd, lR5 does not do that.
(would you try ???)


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## Jim Wilde (Apr 10, 2014)

If you're talking about the options under the "Photo" menu item, then it's a simple wording change. "Delete Photo" has been replaced by "Remove Photo", but it operates in the same way. But really, just pressing either the Delete or Backspace keys is the quicker way to delete photos.


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## rjsphoto (Apr 10, 2014)

well I did use the  'remove from catalog' which the remove did remove it from the catalog, however it is still on my desktop!  In LR4 you could 'remove' 'delete' the image completely  from your system from  within lightroom.


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## sizzlingbadger (Apr 10, 2014)

I get this dialog in LR 5.4


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## Jim Wilde (Apr 10, 2014)

rjsphoto said:


> well I did use the  'remove from catalog' which the remove did remove it from the catalog, however it is still on my desktop!  In LR4 you could 'remove' 'delete' the image completely  from your system from  within lightroom.



"Remove from catalog" does just that....it removes the photo from the catalog but does not delete the photo from the hard drive.

"Remove Photo" (which was "Delete Photo" in LR4) will produce the dialog box that Nik has posted, so there you will have the option to "Remove" (removes from catalog but does not delete) or "Delete from Disk" (removes from catalog AND deletes from disk). This dialog box will also be shown if you use the Delete or Backspace keys.


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## rjsphoto (Apr 10, 2014)

Jim I did say that LR4 gives the option to remove from catalog or delete from disk.  That option is not given inLR5. All of the choices I get in LR5 do not delete from disk.


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## rjsphoto (Apr 10, 2014)

how did you get this in LR5?


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## Hal P Anderson (Apr 10, 2014)

You get that message box by choosing 'Remove Photo...' from the context menu after right clicking on the image, from the 'Photo/Remove Photo...' menu item, or by hitting the Del or Backspace key. 'Delete from disk' was _never _a menu item.


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## rjsphoto (Apr 10, 2014)

Hal I am going to dinner....    Upon return I will attempt to follow your instructions.


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## rjsphoto (Apr 11, 2014)

hello sizzlingbadger...    how did you get the following inLR5?     I can not get this in mine.


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## sizzlingbadger (Apr 11, 2014)

You get that message box by choosing 'Remove Photo...' from the context menu after right clicking on the image. Make sure you are in a folder in LR and not a collection.


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## keiththom (Apr 11, 2014)

As a new Lightroom user, I'm still confused: If I click delete from disk, does lightroom delete my original raw copy?


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## Jim Wilde (Apr 11, 2014)

Choosing my words carefully, it will delete the file(s) that you have selected....it that happens to be the original raw file(s) that you've selected, then yes it/they will be deleted.

What in particular are you feeling confused about?


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## keiththom (Apr 11, 2014)

Jim Wilde said:


> Choosing my words carefully, it will delete the file(s) that you have selected....it that happens to be the original raw file(s) that you've selected, then yes it/they will be deleted.
> 
> What in particular are you feeling confused about?



As I said, I'm very new to lightroom. So at this point I'm still fuzzy on lots of things. I've got Kelby's book, a couple dozen videos and this forum, so hopefully I'll learn the basics soon. 

thanks


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## Jim Wilde (Apr 11, 2014)

Have you downloaded Victoria's free Quick Start Guide, it's a great resource for getting started.


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## keiththom (Apr 11, 2014)

Jim Wilde said:


> Have you downloaded Victoria's free Quick Start Guide, it's a great resource for getting started.



I think I've got it. 

thanks!


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## rjsphoto (Apr 12, 2014)

Okay   your noet that I should be in a folder and not a collection was the key!    I am trying to use the collection system more and just learned something important.    Thank you...


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## curtie01 (Feb 28, 2016)

Hi! I'm using Lightroom 5.0 on a mac. I'm having trouble with deleting photos from my LR library and hard drive. I always click option-delete, which I always believed was the same as clicking delete and then choosing "delete from disk." Either way, whether I do the shortcut or click "delete from disk," the photo disappears from my lightroom catalog but remains on my hard drive! Am I doing something wrong? I've been doing this for years, and just discovered that many years of deleted photos are still hanging around on my hard drive and taking up lots of space. Not sure how to proceed!


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## Johan Elzenga (Feb 28, 2016)

I have to do this from the top of my head, but I believe the shortcut is *Command*-Option-*Shift*-Delete.


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## Jim Wilde (Feb 28, 2016)

Yes, that sounds about right.

The only thing with that shortcut (known as the "splat delete") is that there's no confirmation dialog....enter the command and the file is deleted without any warning, so you'd better make sure that you don't inadvertently have a bunch of images selected that you didn't intend to delete.

One other thought, if you've used the "Delete from Disk" option in the confirmation dialog box, AND the file isn't deleted from the drive after being removed from the catalog, that might point to a permissions problem on the hard drive that you're deleting from.


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## Roelof Moorlag (Mar 1, 2016)

curtie01 said:


> Hi! I'm using Lightroom 5.0 on a mac. I'm having trouble with deleting photos from my LR library and hard drive. I always click option-delete, which I always believed was the same as clicking delete and then choosing "delete from disk." Either way, whether I do the shortcut or click "delete from disk," the photo disappears from my lightroom catalog but remains on my hard drive! Am I doing something wrong? I've been doing this for years, and just discovered that many years of deleted photos are still hanging around on my hard drive and taking up lots of space. Not sure how to proceed!



You are not in a collection as rjsphoto described? Be sure to be in folderview and the delete options will show.


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