This page gets you here: you remove an image from the content safely, or you delete the file from the library.
Two different actions
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Clear or remove the image on a content field | This field no longer uses that image. The file usually stays in the library |
| Delete this image from the library in the picker | The file leaves the site library. Every place that still uses it can break |
On product media, Remove this image is the first kind. It only changes that product’s image list.
What the system checks before a delete
Select an image in the library. The sidebar or the detail may offer to delete it from the library. Before it deletes, the system tries to see whether content still uses the image:
- If it warns that items still use the image, those pages, news articles, products, or logos may show a broken image after you delete it.
- The confirm window is a risk warning. It does not rewrite every reference for you.
- The right order: open each piece of content, pick another image or clear the field, and save. Confirm nothing still uses it. Then delete the file.
Brand images (the logo, the dark logo, and the favicon) use the same library. In Upload a logo and favicon, pick the new image and save before you delete the old file.
The check may say it is confirming usage. Wait for the result before you decide.
A sensible order (deleting one shared image)
- From the warning, or from a page you remember, open the content that still uses this image.
- Pick a new image or clear it, then save or publish.
- On the public site, confirm the old image is gone.
- Go back to the picker and delete the file. If it still warns about a reference, keep looking (the header logo, an SEO share image, an unpublished draft, another language).
Products in one series often share a diagram. Deleting one image can leave several products without a picture.
The image is broken after you delete it
- There is no trash to restore it from. A library delete usually cannot be undone.
- Upload the file again, pick it on each broken field, and save.
- The checks are in Broken images and stale cache.
If you only just replaced an image and still see the old one, that is usually the browser cache. Force a refresh or open a private window. You do not need to delete the file yet.
Who can delete?
By default the owner and an editor can delete. A viewer cannot. If there is no delete control, ask the owner.