How to delete Time Machine backups when using VoiceOver?

By Apple-pie, 13 March, 2015

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps

Hello,

I'm new here but I've been reading topics on this page for some months. I hope someone can help me.

I use a macbook air with OS X 10.10.2 and voiceover. I'd like to delete a time machine backup but can't find the delete key. Some years ago I deleted backups with time machine and I remember that there was a key for it. Now I can find the time line and select the backup I'd like to delete, but there are a lot of unlabeled keys and none is for deleting. I've tried them all out.

I read you could delete time machine backups using the terminal. But when I type in the path of the backup it says such a path could not be found. So I probably made a mistake but don't know where. I have directories with names consisting of more than 1 word and so I put "" around them but this didn't work either.

Ok, I hope there is a solution because my hard drive is quite full now and I don't want to delete everything on it. There are some backups I'd like to keep ...

Thanks,

Apple-pie

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Comments

By Tyler on Sunday, April 5, 2015 - 16:26

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

With time machine active, select the files you want to delete in the Finder. Press VO shift M for the contextual menu and select delete all backups.

By KE7ZUM on Sunday, April 5, 2015 - 16:26

Oh, I generally go through and do it in the tool bar. Never knew you could do it in the control click menu. Cool!

By Apple-pie on Sunday, April 5, 2015 - 16:26

Thanks, T Dog. Unfortunately, this is still not what I'm looking for. I don't want to delete all backups of one file but 1 backup with every file in it. For example: I have some backups of mavericks I'd like to delete. But if I click on "delete all backups" on Macintosh HD than the newer backups are deleted as well.

By Apple-pie on Thursday, November 5, 2015 - 16:26

Hello again,

I've upgraded to el capitan and my backup volume is becoming fuller and fuller. Again I tried to delete an older backup from january 2015 but still there is no delete backup button. I can find cancel and restore but not delete. So again I'm asking for help. Maybe meanwhile someone has found a solution? Or am I too stupid to find the button to delete backups?

Thanks from apple-pie