How do I clear some Downloads please?

[ckristoff]

Hello friends,
on my iMac, the toolbar/dock is across the bottom of the screen. On the far right is the Trash can, next to it on the left side, is the Download folder. Somehow I've accumulated 200 items. I'm unable to transfer them to the Trash can.
Can you help me please?

Frank.

 

[techiesteve]

I don't know if this is what you've been attempting, but you could try as I normally do. View the downloads in list view, then click on the top item to hi-light it, then shift click on the bottom item. All the trash items should be hi-lighted. Then press command backspace to delete. If that doesn't work let us know what macOS you have installed and what you have tried. For instance, have you restarted your iMac, or have your restarted in safe mode.

 

[MacInWin]

Also, once they are in the Trash, you would need to empty the trash to actually delete them from the machine. Otherwise, they sit in the Trash until and unless the system needs the space on the drive for something else.

 

[badshoehabit]

Alternatively open Finder > Downloads >select those you wish to delete (hold Cmd key) > right click on them >drag to Bin > empty Bn

 

[toMACsh]

Can you help me please?

We might need your help to help you. How are you trying to get these items from Downloads into Trash?

 

[NSMacGuru]

ckristoff, I think the other posters have missed one step in the instructions they've offered:

When you click on the Downloads folder in the dock, scroll to the bottom and select "Open in Finder"

In the window that opens, you can then drag the items into the Trash (or click on a filename / thumbnail and Command-Delete).

And as noted above, if you don't empty the trash bin, the files will continue to take up disk space.