Deleting in Premiere Pro depends on what you're trying to delete. Here's a breakdown of how to delete various elements:
1. Deleting Clips from the Timeline:
- Select the clip(s) you want to delete. You can click a clip to select it, Shift+click to select multiple clips, or use the Selection tool to drag a box around the clips.
- Press the Delete key on your keyboard. This will remove the clip(s) from the timeline.
- Alternatively, right-click on the selected clip(s) and choose "Clear."
2. Deleting Footage from the Project Panel (but not your hard drive):
- Locate the clip(s) in the Project Panel.
- Select the clip(s) you want to delete.
- Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
- Premiere Pro will ask you to confirm if you want to remove the item from the project. Click "Yes." This only removes it from your project; the original file remains on your hard drive.
3. Deleting Footage from Your Hard Drive (Use Caution!):
- Do not delete footage directly from your operating system (e.g., Finder or Explorer) while Premiere Pro is open. This can corrupt your project.
- To safely delete the actual footage files:
- In the Project panel, select the footage you want to permanently delete.
- Right-click on the selected clip(s) in the Project panel.
- Choose "Reveal in Project" (or "Reveal in Finder/Explorer," depending on your operating system). This will open the folder on your hard drive where the footage is stored.
- Close Premiere Pro.
- Now, you can delete the files from your hard drive using your operating system's normal delete function (e.g., dragging to the Recycle Bin/Trash).
- Re-open Premiere Pro. If you try to use the clip you've deleted, Premiere Pro will give you an error that the file is missing.
4. Deleting Projects:
- Close the Project you want to delete in Premiere Pro.
- Find the project file (.prproj) on your computer (usually in the location where you saved it). Adobe Video x @filmriot demonstrates finding a project file by right-clicking a tab in the Project panel and selecting 'Reveal project in Explorer/Finder' from 0:15-3:24.
- Delete the .prproj file as you would any other file on your computer.
Important Considerations:
- Deleting clips from the timeline is non-destructive. The original media files are not affected. You can always re-import the clips if needed.
- Deleting items from the Project panel only removes them from your project. The actual media files are not deleted from your hard drive unless you delete the project file, or manually delete the media files from your hard drive after closing Premiere Pro.
- Deleting footage from your hard drive is permanent! Make sure you have backups before deleting anything important.
- Before deleting large projects, consider archiving them. This involves copying all project files and media files to an external drive or cloud storage for safekeeping.
