Cannot delete a folder from Sharepoint site's document library

Question

Hello

We are trying to remove a folder from Sharepoint site's document library.
For some reason the web UI does not provide a possibility for delete as you can see below.

I have tried following things, but I haven't succeeded in the deletion.

• Created a new folder, moved the undeletable folder over to it and deleted the new folder
• Synced folder to own computer and tried to delete from File Explorer
• Excluded the associated Sharepoint site from retention policy and tried to delete
• Waited for 30 days and tried to delete

For background information, I'm site owner and the account has also Global admin privilege. Has anyone encoutered anything similar or solved this kind of folder deletation issue?

Kind regards,
Pekkapek

Answer 1

I think I found a suitable solution. Thank you for the help @Jinwei Li-MSFT and @sadomovalex . The PnP Module's error message was a key thing to get me to the solution.

The solution is that I created a channel in the team that has the same name as the folder. Then I deleted the channel. After that delete option appeared on Sharepoint and I was able to delete the folder.

This is the source I used https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint/channel-folder-cannot-be-deleted/m-p/3545032/highlight/true#M61145 so thanks goes to Ruben_Jobse. It was great to find solution for this after a while of searching.

Regards,
Pekka

Answer 2

Hi @Pekka Pekkonen ,

Edit or higher permission is required at the object level to perform deletion.
Please check your permission for the library and the folder.

1.Library permission:
Please go to you library > library settings > Permissions for this document library > Check Permissions

If you only have read permission, may be you couldn't see the delete option.

2.Folder level permission
Please select your folder > Manage access > Advanced > Check Permissions

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Answer 3

Hi @Pekka Pekkonen ,

You cloud refer to this article below, hope it would help you.

Reference: No delete option on SharePoint file

Note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. The sites are not controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any suggestions from the above link.

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Answer 4

try to remove this folder via PnP Powershell (see e.g. Permanently Delete Folder From SharePoint Library Using PnP PowerShell). If it will fail it may still show some error details which will explain the reason why it can't be deleted.