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Tip/Trick

Completely Empty the SharePoint Recycle Bin

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5.00/5 (8 votes)
8 Sep 2013CPOL 106.7K   3   25
A quick way to empty all entries in the SharePoint 2007 recycle bin without having to empty one page at a time.

If you have lots of stuff in your SharePoint Recycle Bin and want to empty it all, here’s a quick tip:

  1. Navigate to the recycle bin page (e.g., http://localhost/_layouts/recyclebin.aspx)
  2. In the address bar, type “javascript:emptyItems()” (minus the quotes)
  3. Press Enter. You will be asked if you really want to empty the recycle bin.
  4. Click OK to empty it; click Cancel to leave it alone.

It’s much faster to empty it this way if you have multiple pages of “stuff” in your recycle bin.

Note that this tip may only work with Internet Explorer. The browser must be able to understand the "javascript:" portion of the "url" in the address bar.

[Update: This tip works with SharePoint versions from 2007 to 2013. -sj]

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


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Comments and Discussions

 
PraiseVery simple solution - thanks a lot Pin
bgougent8-Jun-18 3:34
bgougent8-Jun-18 3:34 
Questionvery nice code snippet to delete items from recycle bin for sharepoint site collection Pin
dhayanandkalimidi23-Nov-15 2:07
dhayanandkalimidi23-Nov-15 2:07 
GeneralAwesome job mate Pin
Steven Oberholzer10-Apr-14 13:02
professionalSteven Oberholzer10-Apr-14 13:02 
GeneralRe: Awesome job mate Pin
StevenLJackson111-Apr-14 1:58
StevenLJackson111-Apr-14 1:58 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
nagen bihari26-Mar-14 22:17
nagen bihari26-Mar-14 22:17 
GeneralRe: My vote of 5 Pin
StevenLJackson127-Mar-14 2:35
StevenLJackson127-Mar-14 2:35 
My pleasure!
GeneralWorks in SP2013 as well Pin
Aleksey Istomin27-Aug-13 18:33
Aleksey Istomin27-Aug-13 18:33 
GeneralRe: Works in SP2013 as well Pin
StevenLJackson18-Sep-13 1:15
StevenLJackson18-Sep-13 1:15 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Sadan12319-Mar-13 3:35
Sadan12319-Mar-13 3:35 
GeneralRe: My vote of 5 Pin
StevenLJackson119-Mar-13 3:50
StevenLJackson119-Mar-13 3:50 
QuestionNeed Help Pin
Member 98057436-Mar-13 16:34
Member 98057436-Mar-13 16:34 
AnswerRe: Need Help Pin
StevenLJackson18-Mar-13 2:54
StevenLJackson18-Mar-13 2:54 
GeneralRe: Need Help Pin
Member 980574311-Mar-13 18:02
Member 980574311-Mar-13 18:02 
GeneralRe: Need Help Pin
StevenLJackson112-Mar-13 4:15
StevenLJackson112-Mar-13 4:15 
QuestionIs this User level or site level Pin
ArkyBass19-Dec-12 8:12
ArkyBass19-Dec-12 8:12 
AnswerRe: Is this User level or site level Pin
StevenLJackson14-Jan-13 10:43
StevenLJackson14-Jan-13 10:43 
GeneralRe: Is this User level or site level Pin
ArkyBass7-Jan-13 3:56
ArkyBass7-Jan-13 3:56 
QuestionIt works ..excellent !!!!!!!!!!!!! Pin
Rom FM13-Nov-12 10:38
Rom FM13-Nov-12 10:38 
AnswerRe: It works ..excellent !!!!!!!!!!!!! Pin
StevenLJackson113-Nov-12 15:43
StevenLJackson113-Nov-12 15:43 
GeneralIf anyone can verify that this works (or not) in SharePoint ... Pin
StevenLJackson116-Feb-12 3:06
StevenLJackson116-Feb-12 3:06 
GeneralRe: If anyone can verify that this works (or not) in SharePoint ... Pin
StevenLJackson113-Mar-12 9:09
StevenLJackson113-Mar-12 9:09 
GeneralRe: If anyone can verify that this works (or not) in SharePoint ... Pin
ravi_22920-Sep-12 8:08
ravi_22920-Sep-12 8:08 
GeneralRe: If anyone can verify that this works (or not) in SharePoint ... Pin
StevenLJackson120-Sep-12 9:34
StevenLJackson120-Sep-12 9:34 
GeneralRe: If anyone can verify that this works (or not) in SharePoint ... Pin
CTOSian25-Apr-13 3:55
CTOSian25-Apr-13 3:55 
GeneralRe: If anyone can verify that this works (or not) in SharePoint ... Pin
StevenLJackson125-Apr-13 5:47
StevenLJackson125-Apr-13 5:47 

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