Select and act on multiple items at once
Selection
Grid: Click a card to select one item; use Ctrl/Cmd + click to add/remove from selection; Shift + click to select a range. Checkbox on each card reflects selection. You can also use "Select all" in the toolbar to select all items on the current page.
List: Click a row to select; Ctrl/Cmd and Shift work the same. Checkbox column shows selection.
Folders: Folder cards/rows can be selected too so you can delete or move multiple folders. Media and folders can be selected together for move (media moves to the chosen folder; folder move is separate).
Bulk actions (toolbar)
When at least one item is selected, the MediaToolbar shows:
Delete: Permanently deletes all selected items (with confirmation). API: batch delete or loop wordpressMediaAPI.deleteMedia(id). List refreshes after.
Move to folder: Dropdown (or modal) listing folders. Choosing one moves all selected media to that folder. Folders in the selection can be moved to a new parent via drag or a separate "Move folder" action.
Clear selection: Deselects all.
Bulk actions (context menu)
Right-click one or more selected items → Delete or Move to folder (same behavior as toolbar). Useful when you're focused on the grid and don't want to move the mouse to the top.
Clean up or reorganize many files in one go without repeating the same action per item.
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In practice
Smart Media Manager — select one or many items; delete and move to folder in bulk. On this page, Select and act on multiple items at once is covered in detail: what it looks like in the admin, the exact controls it exposes, and how it behaves when you use it day to day. The sections above walk through Selection, Bulk actions (toolbar), Bulk actions (context menu) in order, so you can skim headings and jump straight to the part you need. Because select and act on multiple items at once is part of Smart Media Manager — folders, filters, bulk operations, and a fast grid for the media library — the settings you touch here interact with the rest of the feature; when in doubt, open the feature overview and follow the docs in order.
See also
Need a hand? Contact support or head back to the Smart Media Manager guide.