Skip to main content

Deleting, Removing, Purging and Restoring Files

Updated

You can delete images from your Library or files from galleries anytime. Deleted files are moved to the Trash section of your Library, which is automatically purged every 90 days. Once this folder is purged, files can no longer be restored to the Library.

To understand the differences between Deleting, Removing, Purging, and Restoring content, read through our tutorials below:

Deleting Images

Deleting an image removes it from all galleries it’s in and places it in your Trash, accessible at the bottom of the Left Pane in your Library:

  1. In the Center Pane of your Library select the file(s) to delete.
  2. Click the Delete button on your Right-Hand Action Toolbar in the Center Pane. A warning notification will appear informing you of the action you are about to perform.
  3. Review the content that will be deleted, and click Move To Trash.

You can also delete a photo by dragging and dropping it into the Trash area at the bottom of the Left Pane.

Note: The Trash folder is automatically emptied every 90 days. Once the Trash is emptied, files are no longer able to be restored to the Image Browser. 

Removing Images from a Gallery

In PhotoShelter, you can have multiple copies of the same photo, copied between several Galleries. If you'd like to remove an image from only one of the Galleries it is featured in, you can use the Remove from Gallery option. Doing so will only remove it from the gallery you're currently in, so any virtual copies of that image in other galleries will remain untouched. If you remove an image that only exists in one gallery, it will be moved to the Trash folder.

  1. In the Center Pane of your Library, select the file(s) you'd like to remove.
  2. In the same window, click the options icon (three dots), then select Remove from the gallery. A warning notification will appear informing you of the action you are about to perform.



  3. Click “Remove” to confirm the action, and remove the file(s) from that gallery.

 

Removing a Gallery from a Collection

To move a gallery nested in a collection to a different Collection or even to the root level of the Library, follow the steps below:

  1. In the Left Pane of the Library, click and drag the Gallery to the top of the Left Pane and drop the gallery on the item that says Listed or Unlisted (depending on where you want it! See Listed vs. Unlisted on Website for more info)
  2. Refresh your browser; the gallery should now be visible at the destination it was moved to.

 

Deleting Galleries or Collections

When you delete a gallery or collection, it will disappear permanently. The images that were contained within will be moved into the Deleted Images.

  1. In the Left Pane of the Library, select the gallery or collection you'd like to delete.
  2. Click the orange trash can icon in the Right Pane, and choose Delete. A warning notification will inform you of the action you are about to perform.
  3. Click YES, DELETE to delete the gallery.

Note: You can also delete a gallery by dragging and dropping it into the Deleted Images area at the bottom of the Left Pane, or by using the Actions menu in the Center Pane.

 

Purging Deleted Images

The Trash folder is automatically emptied every 90 days. Once this folder is emptied, files are no longer able to be restored to the Image Browser. However, you may need to free up storage in your account before that 90 days. To do so, you'll need to Purge your Trash folder.

  1. In the Library, click on the Trash folder at the bottom of the Left Pane.
  2. Click Purge All Deleted Images in the Right Pane. A warning notification will inform you of the action you are about to perform.
  3. Click Yes, Purge to permanently delete these images.

Note: Purging your Trash folder removes the files from our database, which, depending on the number of files, can take a few minutes or even hours to complete. As a rule of thumb, purging takes about one second per file. If you don't notice anything happening after purging, refresh the page -- you should notice a decreased file count in the Right Pane.

Files will continue purging in the background -- you can navigate away and work on something else.

 

Recovering Deleted Images

Accidentally deleted a file? No problem! Restoring a deleted image is simple:

  1. In your Library, click the Trash folder at the bottom of the Left Pane.
  2. In the Center Pane, select the file(s) you'd like to restore.
  3. Drag and drop the files into one of the galleries listed in the Left Pane. A confirmation that the images were recovered will show as a banner at the top of the Center Pane.

Note: The Trash folder is not structured, meaning that deleted galleries and collections are not retained as such once deleted. You will need to restore the files individually to a new gallery in the Left Pane. Our team cannot restore deleted galleries or collections for you.

Related articles