iTJMacattack

Q: How to delete pictures permanently from Photos app in my entire mac?

Within the Photos app for OS X you cannot delete a picture permanently from your Mac.

 

(I have imported my existing iPhoto library when I migrated to Photos on 10.10.3)

 

When I delete a picture from Photos. Photos then puts the picture in a trash bin that is hidden in the File button on the task bar - "Show Recently Deleted". When you select this it then shows all of your deleted pictures you selected in Photos. If you then select to "Delete All" it asks you again are your sure and you click ok. Photos then cannot see these photos. BUT IT DID NOT DELETE THEM FROM YOUR MAC!

 

I then opened iPhoto, found the photos that I deleted inside the Photos app and viola they are still there, (these are not thumbnails!) these are the exact picture. HOW DO YOU VERIFY? In iPhoto if you select the picture then go to File - "Reveal in Finder" it will show that the picture you THOUGHT you deleted in Photos, is still there in the Master folder in your library!!

FYI there is no way in Photos to find the file location, very sneaky because the app is not deleting these files. This very frustrating coming from Apple who is pushing thinner profiles so SSD's with very limited storage, to give you the assumption that you are actually deleting these photos and videos when in fact you are not.

 

Question again is...

How to delete pictures permanently from Photos app in my entire Mac?

Does anyone have a solution other than don't use Photos.

 

This question was asked and solved already but I have verified that "Delete All" in the hidden trash can in Photos does in fact not delete from your disk space! Have a video on my YouTube Channel iTJMacattack that shows this issue - for proof.

 

Please real help and a solution!!

 

Thanks,

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Apr 12, 2015 9:28 AM

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Q: How to delete pictures permanently from Photos app in my entire mac?

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  • by darrisb,

    darrisb darrisb Dec 18, 2015 9:47 PM in response to sbunns
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 18, 2015 9:47 PM in response to sbunns

    Thanks so much! I love the step-by-step simplified answer!

  • by jjromeros,

    jjromeros jjromeros Mar 12, 2016 1:42 PM in response to iTJMacattack
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 12, 2016 1:42 PM in response to iTJMacattack

    After installing a fresh copy of El Capitan (which of course includes Photos) I imported my pictures library (around 40,000 pics) and then started trying to delete unwanted pictures. Process took about 1 hour on a MBP with 500GN SSD and 8GB RAM. By the way, before the import, I unchecked the "Copy items to the Photos library" that can be found under Photos\Preferences\General menu. By doing this, my file system (the set of folders containing my pictures) remained intact, since I did not want Photos to use its own copy in the master folder in its library.

     

    It all went fine, however, after the import I tried to delete some pictures using the Command-delete and delete, and other key combinations, but I'd always get the pictures removed from albums and other places in the library, placed in recently deleted folder. So far seemed ok, BUT when I choose Delete All in the Recently Deleted album, and accepting the warning, and seeing and confirming the pictures were removed from Photos, I went to the ACTUAL FOLDER in the hard drive were the pictures were and confirmed THEY ARE STILL THERE. So navigating and testing back and forth through the Photos library folders I see the thumbnail is deleted but not the actual file residing in the hard drive. So it seems that as iTJMacattack has mentioned the original files are not deleted from the hard drive using Photos. Not sure the scenario when the "Copy items to the Photos library" option is checked though.

     

    I hope this post adds a little to the discussion. In any case I still cannot use Photos as I definitely need the software that I use to REALLY remove pictures I don't want and free the corresponding drive space.

     

    Thank you all for your ideas on this matter.

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Mar 12, 2016 4:27 PM in response to jjromeros
    Level 10 (141,085 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 12, 2016 4:27 PM in response to jjromeros

    Not sure the scenario when the "Copy items to the Photos library" option is checked though.

    When you uncheck the checkbox to copy the photos into the library during import you take on the responsibility of maintaining the original/master image files outside of the library.  That's not the recommended setup for a Photos library.  There is too much danger of losing the link between the library and the master files due to moving the master files or library, hard drive crashes or corruption, etc.

     

    I would recommend that you select all of the images in the library and select the File âž™ Consolidate menu option.  You'll get this window with a description of what it will do.

    Photos002.jpg

     

    Once the library has been consolidated you can delete the master files from outside the library.  Now when you delete a photo from the library the full sized master file will be deleted from the library and hard drive at the same time.

     

    Deleting Photos from a Photos 1.3 Library

     

    1 - regardless of where you are in the library, i.e. Moments, Collections, albums, smart albums or projects, select the photo(s) you want to delete and use the key combination of Command+Delete to move the photos to the Recently Deleted smart album.

     

    2 - click on the Recently Deleted smart albums in the sidebar.

     

    Photos001.jpg

    NOTE 1:  If you're using Photos 1.2 or earlier use the File âž™ Show Recently Deleted menu option.

     

    3 - in the Recently Deleted album you can opt to let the photo automatically delete after the 30 day waiting period is up, delete them immediately or restore them to the library.

     

    Photos002.jpg

     

    NOTE 2: deleting a photo from an album, slideshow, book, etc., with the Delete key only deletes the photo from that item.  There is no key combination that will delete a photo from a project and move it directly to the Recently Deleted smart album.

     

    NOTE 3: Deleting a photo from a Moment or Collection (the Photos window) or the All Photos window deletes ALL occurences of that photo in the library.

    OTsig.png

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Mar 12, 2016 4:48 PM in response to jjromeros
    Level 10 (84,585 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Mar 12, 2016 4:48 PM in response to jjromeros

    You want to go swimming and not get wet

     

    If you choose to manage your original photos (a referenced library) then you have to do what you wanted and you have to manage them - Photos will only manage item in its library

     

    If you want Photos to manage then then you have to use a managed library

     

    For what you want it is exactly as you state - you can not use Photos

     

    LN

  • by sergefromtheworld,

    sergefromtheworld sergefromtheworld Apr 12, 2016 5:23 PM in response to iTJMacattack
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 12, 2016 5:23 PM in response to iTJMacattack

    Thanks everyone for this helpful feedback. I hope that our friends at Apple will start reading these exchanges and do something that provide a real answer and solution to this bugging problem. I would have expected a more user friendly and intuitive solution but it seems that some programmers love to keep a few helpful hint in secrecy. Listen to your customers and user and you will not only retain them but create new ones.

    As for this current problem, I had to use the same solution within Photo and delete all the files in the deletion folder since the option of deleting chosen files would not work.

    Another suggestion is to provide where these files are stored so we can better understand how this whole concept work while provide us a quick way to manage the files and folder. Keep it simple and everyone will will.

  • by jjromeros,

    jjromeros jjromeros Apr 23, 2016 11:53 AM in response to sbunns
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 23, 2016 11:53 AM in response to sbunns

    I've been trying to figure this out for several months now. But no combination of commands work. I don't have any iPhoto old library, as I formatted my hard drive and then installed a fresh copy of El Capitan. Then imported all my pics from my hard drive into Photos but instead of allowing the application to move the actual files to the Photos library, I chose to keep them in their original location as I use Lightroom for edition. So I don't want pictures deleted from one application to another, I just want pictures that I delete from Photos to be ACTUALLY deleted from my computer. Of course I'm aware then my LightRoom library is not synced and I would have either to sync it or rebuild it ... and it is fine. So, is there any way to actually delete the file from the hard drive from Photos? Thanks!.

  • by jjromeros,

    jjromeros jjromeros Apr 23, 2016 11:56 AM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 23, 2016 11:56 AM in response to Old Toad

    Thank you so much for the detailed reply. Unfortunately, this is not a good scenario for mr as I use LightRoom to edit my pics. So I definitely prefer having the master files in a separate file structure instead of Photos own library. I think I will keep looking for a solution or just give up on using Photos for good. Again, thanks.

  • by CryptoSPYridium,

    CryptoSPYridium CryptoSPYridium Jun 9, 2016 7:06 AM in response to sbunns
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 9, 2016 7:06 AM in response to sbunns

    Thanks for the help.

    However, following the first steps, yes it removes the photo  on my mac air.

    Then moving to  File,   there is no  text , mentioning    " Show Recently Deleted "   or any reference to " delete ",  in the drop down  File  menu.

    Is that  because  deleting the photo,  got  fixed in an update ? 

    Thanks in advance.

  • by CryptoSPYridium,

    CryptoSPYridium CryptoSPYridium Jun 9, 2016 7:12 AM in response to CryptoSPYridium
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 9, 2016 7:12 AM in response to CryptoSPYridium

    Ah OK, something has changed, cos  its not under    File,  I had to click on the   Sidebar button,  that opened up the     show recently deleted thing.

    Right  thanks , now  ill give it a go

    Thanks

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Jun 9, 2016 7:37 AM in response to jjromeros
    Level 10 (84,585 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jun 9, 2016 7:37 AM in response to jjromeros

    Yes - that is one (one of the less important ones) reason that referenced photos (unchecking the copy to library preference) is not recommended in Photos (or iPhoto for that matter) - when you state you want to manage your original photos you are allowed (and required) to do that

     

    Photos (nor iPhoto) will ever do anything with any photos that its outside it's database - with a referenced library adding and deleting photos is a two step process - and relocating masters is virtually impossible making replacing defective hardware difficult to impossible as are hardware upgrades

     

    a referenced library in Photos will not work the way you want and is simply a bad idea that is strongly not recommended

     

    If that does not work for you then you need to use software that will work the way you want - Photos is not the one

     

    LN

  • by jshire,

    jshire jshire Sep 16, 2016 10:38 PM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 16, 2016 10:38 PM in response to LarryHN

    i've read through this entire thread on this subject & I can understand why some have become frustrated.

     

    following all the proper steps (deleting old iphotos libraries so one only has the photos library, using command-delete to remove photos, also opening the 'recently deleted' folder & selecting to delete all from there, rebooting the mac) DOES NOT free up space on the hard drive.

     

    if anyone reading this thread actually know how to fully delete images & free up hard drive space with photos / el captain then please reply - please don't do so if you simply repeat that the steps mentioned already do it - it doesn't !

     

    As to why Apple released an app that can't even do something so simple, one has to ask what their motivation was.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 17, 2016 6:43 AM in response to jshire
    Level 10 (84,585 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 17, 2016 6:43 AM in response to jshire

    Photos does delete correctly  and does release space when done correct - if you are having a problem ten you have a local problem with with your system or your workflow - when you you post a meaningless and incorrect RANT in a long, confusing and  convoluted thread no one can help you - if you want help then start a new thread and include details about what you have and h=what you are doing and help is available - Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question

     

    LN

  • by jshire,

    jshire jshire Sep 17, 2016 6:53 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 17, 2016 6:53 AM in response to LarryHN

    there is no rant !

     

    look, its simple - if you search these forums & elsewhere you will see that lots of users are having the same issue with photos. I have indeed another thread on the forum about this issue. As mentioned I followed every possible way to delete images from photos on a macbook pro with el captain & with the old iphotos library deleted. The images were removed but the size of the photo app did not change. The deletion was done correctly - totally correctly.

     

    What I discovered (sometimes after posting the message above) was that there is a bug (for want of a better word). When a user deletes their old iphotos library (another part of the process to reclaim space on ones hard drive with deletion of photos) all the iphoto folders in its location are removed except one obscure on that is hidden in package contents. It shows up in finder as only being small. For example I had deleted 50gb of photos but did not regain any space. This iphoto sub-folder appeared to be 10mb. I deleted it to trash & then when I emptied the trash it showed 13,000 items to delete & once emptied the 50gb space appeared. I've searched online & have found other references to this. It appears that the correctly deleted images from photos cannot be removed from photos until this obscure folder is removed, Until then they hang in 'other' space and are somehow linked to this iphoto folder. The iphoto folder is not searchable & can only be found by digging around inside various sub folders.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 17, 2016 7:06 AM in response to jshire
    Level 10 (84,585 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 17, 2016 7:06 AM in response to jshire

    It is a RANT since it only presents an abstract problem and lots of editorial content what no (absolutely none) details that anyone can use to help you

     

    once again to get help start a new thread including details

     

    Photos does delete correctly  and does release space when done correctly - if you are having a problem then you have a local problem with with your system or your workflow - when you you post a meaningless and incorrect RANT in a long, confusing and  convoluted thread no one can help you - if you want help then start a new thread and include details about what you have and what you are doing and help is available - Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question

    LN

  • by jshire,

    jshire jshire Sep 17, 2016 7:12 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 17, 2016 7:12 AM in response to LarryHN

    sorry, but you're behaving incorrectly - my 'rant' as you put it was in response to the various messages posted by others that have only resulted in the same answers being given that do not work for lots of users. All the 'facts' can easily be found in the various explanations given in the thread.

     

    enough of this.

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