I need to delete a photo (yes, just one!) that I got onto my iPad through iTunes. Is there away to do this directly from the iPad? I am away from my computer and need to delete this photo from a slideshow. It got inadvertently included in an iPhoto album I synced onto the iPad and now it sticks out like a sore thumb (I will be running a slideshow of my father's photos during his wake). Please help!!!
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Damn Apple!!!! How to delete photos synced through iTunes?
- Thread starter akadmon
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Unfortunately I don't think so.
What you could do though is open each photo, then press home and the top sleep button at the same time. This will "save" a screen shot of each photo into the "saved photos" album. Then you can just play a slideshow of just those photos.
When you are looking at the photo in full view (ie not in the tiled view mode) there is an icon in the bottom right of the screen of a garbage bin.
If you can't see any of the icons, tap the screen to bring up the menu.
That only appears in the "Saved Photos" area, or from the camera roll on an iPhone/Touch. Not in a synced photo album.
My mistake.To whoever told me to click on the arrow in the top corner (whose post disappeared as soon as it appeared) - this does not work! That's exactly the problem I'm having. The red delete button only works for pictures that get onto the iPad some other way (e.g., through the iPad connection kit), not through iTunes. I'm really really really tired of all the handholding, Apple!!! What is ********** wrong with letting the user manage the content on the iPad without being tethered to the mothership?
Synched photos are 'optimized'. Apples term for reducing the size and placing in a database array. Once synched there isn't a way to remove without removing the album on a subsequent synch. Once you no the limitations, it isn't so bad.
I did exactly what you said and now I have a slideshow free of that pesky pic! Fortunately the album only had 34 photos in it, otherwise I might have to be up till 3 a.m. I owe you, man!
Because I live in Boston and the funeral is in Chicago. I did not bring my Mac Pro with me on this trip.
I'm glad you were able to find a workaround, however the situation itself is ludicrous. You really should be able to delete a photo from the iPad. Apple should get on this pronto!!!
The problem is that letting you delete photos on an iPad makes the sync process a lot more complicated. Currently the sync only goes in one direction, from your Mac to the iPad. If you could delete photos Apple would want those changes to sync back to the Mac. This means that the sync would have to go in both directions which is a more difficult problem to solve. I'd love to be able to rearrange photos on my iPad but unfortunately it's not a trivial thing for Apple to add.
Firstly let me just say glad you managed to work around the issue and sorry to hear your bad news.
This is the type of story that needs getting back BIG TIME to Apple and make them realise that if they are going to insist on carrying on along this stupid path of making their tablet devices just temporary extensions of a persons REAL computer as opposed to proper fully fledged independent devices in their own right.
Then they need to pack a LOT more basic functionality into their devices, so people don't find themselves stuck.
Otherwise the ridiculous scenario of having to carry your laptop around with you when you go somewhere as well as your iPad becomes more a reality.
I know you can't arrange photo's, make new folders for photo's etc, which is crazy to begin with, but even I didn't realise you can't delete photo's. That's just plain stupid.
I can't believe any normal rational intelligent person on these forums if they were in a design meeting, creating a photo application for a tablet to handle all the images on a portable device would say, Oh no. We don't want people to be able to delete photo's. And also, they should not be able to arrange them either.
It's pathetic really. For a mobile phone, perhaps, but not for a full tablet computing device that wishes to be seen a a serious device and not just a toy you can't really do things with.
This is the type of story that needs getting back BIG TIME to Apple and make them realise that if they are going to insist on carrying on along this stupid path of making their tablet devices just temporary extensions of a persons REAL computer as opposed to proper fully fledged independent devices in their own right.
Then they need to pack a LOT more basic functionality into their devices, so people don't find themselves stuck.
Otherwise the ridiculous scenario of having to carry your laptop around with you when you go somewhere as well as your iPad becomes more a reality.
I know you can't arrange photo's, make new folders for photo's etc, which is crazy to begin with, but even I didn't realise you can't delete photo's. That's just plain stupid.
I can't believe any normal rational intelligent person on these forums if they were in a design meeting, creating a photo application for a tablet to handle all the images on a portable device would say, Oh no. We don't want people to be able to delete photo's. And also, they should not be able to arrange them either.
It's pathetic really. For a mobile phone, perhaps, but not for a full tablet computing device that wishes to be seen a a serious device and not just a toy you can't really do things with.
OP, so glad you got your situation worked out, I know it was frustrating
For all those complaining about the design flaw, I would guess there would be an even larger outcry of people complaining after deleting a photo on the iPad only to have it sync with there computer and lose the photo there too. "Where is my damn photo! Apple sux! I can't believe the design flaw in this!" Or if it didn't sync at all, there would be those that say "what good is this device if it doesn't sync with my computer, I want it to be an extension of my computer on the road." Or if you had to manually sync every photo every time, "do you want this one? do you want that one?".
There are tradeoffs for everything, and not everyone sees this as a huge design flaw, but rather a necessary work flow in the bigger picture
For all those complaining about the design flaw, I would guess there would be an even larger outcry of people complaining after deleting a photo on the iPad only to have it sync with there computer and lose the photo there too. "Where is my damn photo! Apple sux! I can't believe the design flaw in this!" Or if it didn't sync at all, there would be those that say "what good is this device if it doesn't sync with my computer, I want it to be an extension of my computer on the road." Or if you had to manually sync every photo every time, "do you want this one? do you want that one?".
There are tradeoffs for everything, and not everyone sees this as a huge design flaw, but rather a necessary work flow in the bigger picture
Just 1 question:
Are you one of these people that thinks Apple can do no wrong?
I've seen you post a number of times, only a few postings, so I don't know your overall viewpoint. But from the posts I have seen they are generally telling people here they are wrong and that the way Apple had done something is the right way.
I never tell people they are wrong
What I do say is that there are different ways of looking at things
For Apple to satisfy the whims of some in this regard would obviously affect others in an adverse way. There is always a give and a take. I would never say someone was wrong for having their opinion on this or any other issue when it comes to personal use, design, etc.
However, you say...
... which seems to me to say that you think that anyone that disagrees with you on this matter is not a normal rational intelligent person.
We all have our views and opinions. I happen to recognize that just because I value a feature, design, or interface doesn't mean it is always best for everyone else. You are welcome to hold an opinion on this without it being wrong. However, there are other opinions just as valid.
And no, I don't believe Apple can do no wrong
I just happen to appreciate what they do right and not dwell on the rest
Let's supposed Apple gave you a way to locally remove a pesky photo from a synced Photo Album.
You are happy now, and things can go on.
However IF you forget to edit out that pesky photo from the Photo Album on the computer, when you reconnect your iPad that peksy photo gets resynced.
I am setting up several portfolio slide shows, and for that reason we look carefully at what is in the albums. This included letting a few people preview the slide show before we let everyone else see it.
You are happy now, and things can go on.
However IF you forget to edit out that pesky photo from the Photo Album on the computer, when you reconnect your iPad that peksy photo gets resynced.
I am setting up several portfolio slide shows, and for that reason we look carefully at what is in the albums. This included letting a few people preview the slide show before we let everyone else see it.
As someone who happened to write syncing software for an unrelated product from 1996 ->1999, I can tell you the OP is absolutely correct. This is PRECISELY what happened with this product when we allowed the portable device to delete items. We were literally flooded and overloaded with support issues. Back then about 10-20% of our users were able to understand the implications of 2 way syncing. The rest were flummoxed by it and inevitably lost data. (These same users inevitably didn't have backups.) I can't tell you for certain why Apple has chosen to do it this way, but I suspect they found something similar in their own research and testing.
How hard would it be for Apple to offer two way syncing of photos, documents, but just have it turned off by default?
That way if you turn it on there could be a warning dialog that pops up and informs people that two-syncing will delete data on their computer and ask them if they'd like to continue.
Or how about iTunes on the home computer pops up with a dialog saying "A device with two-way syncing is trying to connect. Would you like to continue? Data, Photos, Docs maybe deleted if continued?"
These seem like viable solutions to me. I personally like the first solution and think by having it off by default it would avoid the most 'accidents'.
I suppose the reason why this does not bother me is that I'm not dumb enough to allow iTunes to get it's hands onto any of my REAL files when it comes to syncing or copying data across.
I have all my things in different areas, safe areas.
I then have different folders of Music, Photo's and Video which I put things in that I wish to sync.
If anything screws up or gets deleted. It only get's deleted from this area, and not the real files.
Do people really entrust their real and only copies to such systems?
I have all my things in different areas, safe areas.
I then have different folders of Music, Photo's and Video which I put things in that I wish to sync.
If anything screws up or gets deleted. It only get's deleted from this area, and not the real files.
Do people really entrust their real and only copies to such systems?
One answer is iPhone Explorer.
I don't like doing things Steve's Way, whether it's because of my 30 year history working with computers or because I don't agree with His Way -- but I don't like it. I've committed to the Apple world but I'm not joining His Church. He does not know what the best way for me to get my work done is.
OP, you can cut at least partially loose from iTunes hell using iPhone Explorer. I used it to delete a large number of photos I'd moved to my iPad to show someone, but did not want to keep there.
It worked exactly as advertised. No jailbreaking needed, nothing. It's free, too.
I don't like doing things Steve's Way, whether it's because of my 30 year history working with computers or because I don't agree with His Way -- but I don't like it. I've committed to the Apple world but I'm not joining His Church. He does not know what the best way for me to get my work done is.
OP, you can cut at least partially loose from iTunes hell using iPhone Explorer. I used it to delete a large number of photos I'd moved to my iPad to show someone, but did not want to keep there.
It worked exactly as advertised. No jailbreaking needed, nothing. It's free, too.