iTunes – How to Delete Songs from Playlist on Computer

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Oftentimes, I am in an iTunes playlist and want to delete a song from my computer.

However, if I am in an iTunes playlist, I can only delete the song from the playlist, and then I have to go back to All Music in iTunes to delete the song from the computer.

The picture above shows the window that appears when I go to delete a song in a playlist.

Is there a way to delete a song from a playlist and the computer at the same time?

Tech Specs

  • OS X 10.8.4
  • iTunes 11.0.5

Best Answer

In iTunes, select the song in your playlist and press ⌘ cmd + ⌥ alt/option + ← backspace.

Do you want to delete the selected song, or keep it in the iTunes Media folder?

It will prompt you to delete the file from your iTunes Media folder as well as the playlist itself.

To do this completely from the keyboard, enable Full Keyboard Access to All Controls (from System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts) to be able to tab to the Delete File button, then press Space to 'click' it.

Alternatively, you could create an AppleScript or Automator action that runs on a BetterTouchTool shortcut/gesture to do this in one step.

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