Delete photos

Delete photos from the Browser

If necessary, you can delete versions and even originals.

When deleting photos, you can:

  • Remove a version of the photo from an album, leaving any other versions in their original locations in the library

  • Delete versions from within a stack

  • Delete a version from a project

  • Delete originals

Remove a version from an album

  • Select the version and choose Photos > Remove From Album (or press Delete).

Delete an original

When a photo is represented in the Browser by a single version, you can select the version and delete it, and the corresponding original is deleted as well.

  1. Select a version.

  2. Choose File > Delete Version (or press Command-Delete).

The original and its version are moved to the Aperture Trash. For more information, see Work with the Aperture Trash.

Delete a version from a stack

When you create new versions of a photo, you can set Aperture to group the versions in a stack—a set of related photos that can be shown side by side in the Browser for comparison purposes. You can delete a version from such a version stack. For more information, see Create stacks.

  1. Click the Stack button to open the stack, and select the version you want to delete.

  2. Choose File > Delete Version (or press Command-Delete).

The deleted version is moved to the Aperture Trash. For more information, see Work with the Aperture Trash.

Delete a version from a project

  • Select a photo, a video clip, or an audio clip, and choose File > Delete Version.

The version is moved to the Trash, along with the original if you deleted its last version.

Delete a version stack and its original

You can select a stack containing versions of the same image and delete all the image versions in the stack as well as the original.

  1. Select the stack you want to delete.

  2. Choose File > Delete Original Image and All Versions.

The original and all its versions are moved to the Aperture Trash. For more information, see Work with the Aperture Trash.

Recover a deleted photo

If you accidentally delete a photo you meant to keep, and you can’t recover it by choosing Undo, you may be able to recover it from the Aperture Trash.

  1. In the Library inspector, select Trash.

    All photos currently in the Aperture Trash are displayed in the Browser.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Drag the photo you accidentally deleted back to its original project.

    • Control-click the accidentally deleted photo and choose Put Back from the submenu.

If you’ve already emptied the Aperture Trash, you may be able to recover the photo from the Finder Trash. If you’ve already emptied the Finder Trash, but you backed up your library before deleting the photo, you may be able to restore the project containing the deleted photo from the vault. If you updated your vault after emptying the Aperture Trash, the vault won’t contain the deleted photo.