How can I delete photos from disk after removing them only from the Lightroom catalog?
Asked 8/4/2016
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2 answers
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I imported photos into Lightroom and removed many of them from the catalog, but chose not to delete the files from disk. Now the folder on my drive still contains those unwanted images. Is there a way to identify and delete the files left on disk without starting over or rebuilding the folder from scratch?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
5
For those who have done the same mistake here is how to proceed:
- In the Library view, right click on a folder and select
Synchronize... - Check both
Import new photosandShow import dialog before importingcheckboxes and pressSynchronizebutton - On the import view, check
Add to collectionon the right pane and create a new collection and click on theImportbutton - On the library view, select the newly created collection then select all the photo (press ctrl + a or CMD + a on osx) the mark all as rejected (press x)
- Select back the initial folder, the pictures should be back but all marked as rejected
- The in the Photo top menu, select
Delete rejected photosthen pressDelete from disk
That should do the trick.
Originally by user55493. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user55493
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. Since the photos were removed only from the catalog, Lightroom no longer knows which leftover files to delete directly. A practical workaround is to compare the folder on disk with what Lightroom still references.
Two common methods:
-
In Lightroom, synchronize the folder so Lightroom finds the files still on disk but missing from the catalog. You can import those found files into a temporary collection, mark them as rejected, then use Lightroom’s command to delete rejected photos and choose Delete from Disk.
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Alternatively, use Lightroom to temporarily move the photos that are still in the catalog to another folder. Any files left behind in the original folder are the ones that were removed from the catalog earlier. Delete those in your operating system’s file browser, then move the cataloged photos back using Lightroom.
In general, Lightroom can only delete from disk files it currently tracks in the catalog, so one of these recovery/sync methods is needed.
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