Different Ways to Delete the Contents of A Folder

The procedures required to remove a file, directory, or folder on a computer might vary depending on the technique you choose to use and the operating system you are using. To go on, choose an option from the provided list and follow the on-screen instructions.

Delete Files Using the Microsoft Windows

Users of Microsoft Windows have various options available to them when deleting unneeded files or folders (directories) from a hard drive or an external disc drive. The following list the most frequent ways a file or folder may be removed from Microsoft Windows.

Delete key

Find the object you wish to remove, highlight it by clicking your left mouse button on the file or folder that contains it, and then hit the Delete key on your keyboard. Using either "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer," you will be able to investigate the file's location or folder.

Right-Clicking On a File

Start Windows Explorer or My Computer, whichever you like. Before continuing, you should check that the directory or folder is empty unless you want to erase everything currently included inside it. Right-click the file or folder you wish to remove from your computer once you have located it. Select "Delete" from the menu that appears when you click the button.

Delete from The File Menu.

Start Windows Explorer or My Computer, whichever you like. Using the top menu bar, go to the location of the file or folder you wish to remove, click on it, and then pick the Delete option.

Problems During Delete

Encryption and password protection are methods that might prevent the unauthorized deletion of certain files and folders. In this scenario, you could be required to provide a password to decrypt the file or disable the password protection. The user can only access the file for viewing purposes if the file has been configured to be read-only Contents, which prevents the file from being edited or deleted. If you attempt to delete a file that can only be read, you will get a notice informing you that the file is write-protected and hence cannot be erased. To remove the file, you will need to alter or write rights.

Certain files may be erased, but only with the approval of an administrator. To erase these files from the computer, you will need administrator permissions on the system. If you are using a computer at work, the members of the technical support team are often the only other users on the computer who have administrator access.

The Command Prompt for Windows

For information on how to delete a file or folder using the Windows command line, go to the section that follows that discusses MS-DOS and the command line in Windows.

Uninstalling A Program

For assistance with uninstalling (also known as removing) software applications from the computer, go to our methods for uninstalling a program.

Way to Delete Files in MS-DOS

You have to go to an MS-DOS prompt or the Windows command line before proceeding with any of the procedures listed below. If you are unfamiliar with using the command line, it is recommended that you go through the pages that are listed below first.

Files

The del command allows users of MS-DOS to erase files from their computers. Visit this page to get more information and assistance with the command above. An example of how to use this command may be seen down below. When deleting a file, you must input the full file name, including the file extension, as shown in the example.

Delete Numerous Files

You may also use wildcards to remove several files or a whole set of files. For example, the following command will delete all text files with an extension ending in.txt.

Directory

Users of MS-DOS may destroy directories (dir) in the operating system by using either the delete command or the rmdir command. If you want further information on these commands, you may get it from any of these sources.

Way to Delete Files in Linux

Files

To remove files via the operating system's terminal. Please refer to this page for any more information about this command.

Delete Multiple Files

If you wish to remove multiple files at once, you may also use wildcards; for example, the following command would delete any files whose extensions were.txt.

Directory

Users of Linux and Unix may remove directories with the rmdir command, which is executed via the terminal. Please refer to this page for any more information about this command.

Delete Key

On a Macintosh computer, pressing the Remove key on the keyboard will not delete a file or folder by itself. To remove a file or folder, you must first press and hold the Command key, then press and release the delete key. Using Finder, you will be able to go to the specific location of the file or folder.