You can often find unwanted or unnecessary files and folders on your PC that you want to get rid of. Deleting these files or folders creates additional space on your PC, which is always a good thing. In this post for beginners, we will show you the different ways to delete files and folders in Windows 10, permanently or temporarily, using keyboard shortcuts, File Explorer, PowerShell, prompt controls, specialized software, etc.
How to delete files and folders in Windows 10
There are different ways to delete files and folders, permanently or temporarily, in Windows 10:
- Using the context menu – Right click on the file or folder
- Using the keyboard shortcut – Remove key
- Using the keyboard shortcut – Shift + Delete key
- Drag and drop into the trash
- Using the File Explorer Ribbon
- Using PowerShell
- Using the command prompt
- Use of specialized software
Let’s examine them all in detail.
1]Using the context menu – Right click on the file or folder
To delete using Contextual menu, select the file (s) or folder (s) you want to get rid of. Right click on it and press the ‘Remove’ in the popup window that opens. The selected items are sent to the trash because they are temporarily deleted and can be recovered if necessary.
Deleting a folder made up of other files or folders will delete everything inside that folder, so be sure to check it properly before doing so.
2]Using the keyboard shortcut – Remove key
While on your desktop or in file explorer, select the items you want to delete and press the key. ‘Remove’ key or “Ctrl + D” on the keyboard. This will temporarily delete the selected file (s) or folder (s) and will be moved to the Trash. However, these deleted files can be restored from the Recycle Bin.
To select all files in a folder, select ‘CTRL + A’.
3]Using the keyboard shortcut – Shift + Delete key
To delete files or folders without sending them to the trash, select the items and press “Shift + Delete” on the keyboard. This will permanently delete the selected files. In such a case, these deleted files can only be recovered or restored using specialized software like Recuva.
4]Drag and drop into the trash
This is a simple method to delete the file (s) or folder (s). All you have to do is select the file and drag and drop it to the trash.
5]Using the File Explorer Ribbon
This method will teach you how to temporarily or permanently delete files or folders using the Home menu of File Explorer ribbon.
To start, open File Explorer (Win + E) and navigate to the location of the files to delete. Tap or select the files you want to get rid of, then click the ‘Home’ in the ribbon above. In addition, press ‘Remove’ of ‘Home’ and you will see that a drop down menu will open. hurry ‘To recycle’ to temporarily delete the file, which will be moved to the Trash.
To permanently delete the files, select ‘Permanently deleted’ option.
A confirmation dialog will appear asking if you are sure to permanently delete this file. Click on ‘Yes’ proceed.
6]Using PowerShell
If you are unable to delete a file or folder from your computer, you can use Windows PowerShell to delete any file and folder effortlessly. The advantage of using PowerShell is that you can force the deletion of a file and delete everything from inside a folder.
7]Using the command prompt
You can also delete files and folders using the command prompt. using the DEL or RD commands.
8]Permanently delete files using specialized software
There are specialized software programs that permanently delete unwanted files from your Windows 10 PC which cannot be recovered by any file recovery tool. Some of these data wiping apps are Eraser, WipeFile, Freeraser, File Shredder, Alternate File Shredder, and more.
You usually need to download and install these apps to use them. These applications permanently delete all the selected files and folders and cannot really be recovered by specialized recovery tools.
These are all the possible ways to delete files and folders in Windows 10.
- Keywords: Beginners, Tutorials