---
title: "Delete an item"
slug: "delete-an-item"
abstract: "In Content Editor, you can delete an item and all of its versions and subitems, or you can delete a single version of an item."
---
# Delete an item
You might need to delete content items sometimes. In the Content Editor or the Experience Editor, you can delete an item and all of its versions and subitems, or you can delete a single version of an item.
> [!note]
> If you want to remove an item from your website temporarily, you can [archive the item](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/users/105/sitecore-experience-platform/archive-and-restore-an-item.html "Archive and restore an item"). When you archive an item, it is not deleted but stored outside the content tree. Archived items can be restored at any time.
>
> When you delete an item, it is moved to the Recycle Bin. You can [restore or permanently delete items](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/users/105/sitecore-experience-platform/restore-or-remove-a-deleted-item.html "Restore or remove a deleted item") from the Recycle Bin.
> [!note]
> Some items are stored in resource files and you cannot delete them. When you delete these items, Sitecore shows the following message: _Some of selected items are in resources and cannot be deleted._ When you modify resource items, Sitecore creates a copy of the item with modifications in the database and uses this instead of the item in the resource file.
>
> If you use the Delete command on this item, Sitecore deletes it from the database and restores it from the resource file, and shows the following warning: _Some of the items are deleted from the database but restored from the resources._
Delete an item, its subitems and versions
To delete an item and all its subitems and versions:
1. In the Content Editor or the Experience Editor, navigate to the item or page that you want to delete.
- In the Content Editor, on the **Home** tab, in the **Operations** group, click **Delete**. Alternatively, you can right-click the item in the content tree, and click **Delete**.
- In the Experience Editor, on the **Home** tab, in the **Edit** group, click **Delete page**.
2. If the item contains subitems, a message appears informing you that that the item contains subitems and that these items will be deleted too.
- To save any of the subitems, click **Cancel** and move them to another location.
- To delete the item and its subitems, click **OK**. This deletes every version of the item in every language.
Handle breaking links
If there are links to the item you delete, the **Breaking Links** dialog opens.
You can select an option to apply to all links. If you want, you can handle links individually and then apply one option to any remaining links.
1. To open the list of breaking links, in the **Breaking Links** dialog, click **Edit Links**.
2. For each link, you can:
- Edit the item containing the link
- Remove the link
- Link to another item
> [!NOTE]
> If you do not handle a link individually, it remains in the list to be handled collectively.
3. If you selected **Link to another item**, in the **Relink** dialog, click the item that you want to link to instead. To update the link, click **OK**.
4. In the **Edit Links** dialog, click **Close**.
5. In the **Breaking Links** dialog, select one of the following options to apply to any remaining links:
- **Remove links** – remove all the links that exist to this page.
- **Link to another item** – change all the links to this page to link to another item.
- **Leave links** – leave broken links to this page. The links will be restored if you restore the item at a later time.
6. Click **Continue**.
Delete a single version of an item
If you have created several different versions of an item, you can delete individual versions of the item without deleting the item or any of its other versions or subitems.
To delete a version of an item:
1. In the content tree, locate the item that has a version that you want to delete.
2. If the item is available in multiple languages or versions:
- Click the **Language** button  and select the language version that you want to delete.
- Click the **Versions** button  and select the version that you want to delete.
3. On the **Versions** tab, in the **Versions** group, click **Remove**. The version that you have selected is deleted.
Delete multiple items
In the Content Editor, you can use the [Search](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/users/105/sitecore-experience-platform/searching.html "Searching") functionality to delete multiple items at the same time.
To search for and delete multiple items:
1. In the Content Editor, in the content tree, locate and select an item that you want to delete.
2. Click the **Search** icon  to the right of the **Content** tab.
3. In the **Search** field, enter a search keyword for the items that you want to delete.
4. Use the necessary search facets or filters to narrow down your search so that the search result only displays the items that you want to delete.
5. Click the drop-down arrow  to the left of the search field, click **Search Operations,** and then click **Delete Results**.
> [!WARNING]
> When you click **Delete results**, the result items are deleted without a warning or confirmation. If you regret deleting an item, you can open the [Sitecore Recycle Bin](https://doc.sitecore.com/xp/en/users/105/sitecore-experience-platform/restore-or-remove-a-deleted-item.html "Restore or remove a deleted item") and restore any deleted item.