# Remove attachment completely
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [September 14, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042 "2017-09-14T12:45:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@precessor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/precessor)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/1 "2017-09-14T12:45:35Z")
As Admin I have edited a post in which there was an attachment which is not allowed by our forum rules.
I removed the link to the attachment but the link remains in the edit history, and the attachment also remains (it can still be downloaded).
Can I completely remove/delete the attachment? (it’s a PDF file)
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### Author:  [@wesochuck](https://meta.discourse.org/u/wesochuck)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/2 "2017-09-14T12:56:50Z")
Search your admin settings for _clean_ and you should get some options for handing orphaned uploads (though I don’t know if this is technically considered orphaned).
In the revision history, you should be able to hide a revision. I’m not sure those revisions are even viewable by non-moderators if it isn’t a wiki post.
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/3 "2017-09-14T14:45:21Z")
> [@wesochuck](#):
>
> (though I don’t know if this is technically considered orphaned).
Uploads (images/attachments) that are **only** referenced in a revision are indeed considered orphans.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [September 14, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/4 "2017-09-14T18:13:26Z")
> [@wesochuck](#):
>
> In the revision history, you should be able to hide a revision. I’m not sure those revisions are even viewable by non-moderators if it isn’t a wiki post.
By default revisions are visible to all users. You can disable this in site settings.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/5 "2017-09-15T00:18:11Z")
That won’t matter, though, because as @zogstrip pointed out, uploads referenced in old revisions get culled and deleted eventually.
Turning off all old revision viewing in this case would be a “boil the sea” solution and definitely not recommended.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/6 "2017-09-15T02:32:45Z")
To be clear, not suggesting that hiding revision history is the solution here - just clarifying Wes’s post.
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### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/7 "2019-09-29T14:51:39Z")
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/8 "2019-09-29T15:02:29Z")
Attachments in old revisions will be permanently deleted over time. Discourse only retains attachments in live posts that are not deleted, and edit history does not count as a live, current post.
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### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/remove-attachment-completely/70042/9 "2019-10-03T02:55:21Z")