Deleting any file from the computer is a task that every computer user regularly does. Using the “Delete” key for this deletion task is the easiest way in such scenarios. But things turn out a bit complex when the “Delete” key is somehow not accessible.
If that particular key is damaged or not even present on the keyboard, you will surely seek a solution for how to delete without delete key. No matter the scenario, without the “Delete” key, it is a bit complex to execute the task. But there are effective solutions available to this issue as well, which you can apply.
How to Delete Without Delete Key – The Possible Ways and Steps You Can Follow
Even if it is rare, there are some keyboards that don’t contain the “Delete” key. The situation can also be like this when your keyboard’s “Delete” key is somehow damaged and stops working. On these two occasions, you won’t have the privilege of using this key for deleting files from your computer.
But deleting files is a necessary task that you need to perform on a regular basis. So, how are you going to do it? Here comes the necessity of using the alternative path for the deletion task. Now, the paths that you can choose under such circumstances are described below:
Method – 1: Delete Files Using the Right-Click Menu
Here we have the first method of deleting files without the “Delete” key. Here, we will use the right-click menu to delete unwanted files from your computer. The process of this method is as follows:
Step-1: Select the Files
The first thing you need to do is select the files that you want to delete. To select the files, you must take your mouse cursor over it and simply left-click to select the first file. If you want to select multiple files, press and hold the left button of your mouse or touchpad and select as many files as you want.
Whether you use Windows 10 or 11, the file selection process is the same in both these operating systems.
Step-2: Delete the Files
Once you are done selecting the files, keep your mouse cursor over those selected files, and hit the right button. By doing so, a small window full of various options regarding those files will appear. Now, if you are using Windows 10, you will find the “Delete” option at the bottom portion of that window.
Hit that option to delete the files you selected a bit earlier. If the OS is Windows 11, the window that appeared because of your right-clicking will contain a “Trash-can” icon at the upper section. Click on that icon to delete the selected files. But there is an important fact about this deletion process.
This method won’t permanently delete the files from your computer as those files will be gathered in the “Recycle Bin.” From that section, you can either retrieve those files or permanently delete them later based on your requirement.
Method – 2: Use the File Explorer’s Menu to Delete the Unwanted Files
Here we have the second method to delete files without using the “Delete” key. In this method, we will use the File Explorer’s menu to delete files from your computer, and here’s how you can do it:
In this method, you must select a file or multiple files first, like in the previous method. Once you are done selecting, you need to locate the “Home” tab from the ribbon in the window’s upper-right corner.
Tap on it, and you will see the “Delete” option appearing in the upper-middle portion with a dropdown icon at its right. Click on that icon, and two options will be revealed. The first is for temporary deletion, storing the deleted files in the “Recycle Bin.” On the other hand, the second option is for “Permanent Delete.”
Click on either of these options based on what you want to do with those files. As this was the solution for Windows 10 OS, the process for Windows 11 OS is slightly different. The selection of the files is always the same. As you select the files, the “Delete” icon will automatically appear on the upper ribbon section.
The icon will look like the traditional “Trash-can” shape, and you need to click on it to delete those files. In Windows 11, you won’t have the dedicated permanent delete option, and the deleted files will be stored in the “Recycle Bin.”
Method – 3: Delete Files Using CMD
In this method, we are going to use the command prompt to delete any particular file. In the beginning, you need to make sure about the location of that file. After doing so, here comes the phase where you will have to enter the path to the file to the command window.
As an example, the name of the file is “Photo,” which is a jpg file, and it is located in another file named “New Order” in D drive. Now, the command you need to type is [del “D:\New Order\Photo.jpg”]. After typing that command, hit the “Enter” button on your keyboard.
This process will delete that file without further confirmation, and it is the same for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Using this command prompt method, you can also delete the read-only files that can’t be deleted on usual occasions.
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FAQs
Deleting any file without using the “Delete” key is a bit complex but not impossible. Instead of that key, you can either use the right-clicking menu or execute the task by using the File Explorer’s menu. It is also possible to delete any file by typing the precise command in the command prompt.
We have discussed the three alternative options in the discussion above. The first method is using the right-clicking menu, which doesn’t delete files permanently and stores them in the “Recycle Bin” for both Windows 10 and 11. In the File Explorer’s menu, the files can be permanently deleted in Windows 10 but not in Windows 11.
If you use the command prompt method, the files will be deleted permanently with a single command both in Windows 10 and 11.
Final Words
In some cases, the “Delete” key may stop operating, or it can also happen that there is no presence of that key on your keyboard. It can give you a headache in such situations about how to delete without delete key.
But there is no reason to worry as there are alternative ways of deleting files. By using those alternative paths, you can delete unwanted files on your computer both temporarily and permanently.
I am a regular user of computer keyboards. For using keyboard face different kinds of problems and also solve it very easily. I love sharing knowledge about keyboards.
