Deleting photos from hard disk

Hi, I have all of my photos on my hard disk and external hard drive. After I back up onto DVDs I would like to delete all of them off of my Mac (to free up some space).
My question is, will I still see the thumbnails without having to connect the external hard drive (I do a lot of photo editing).
Also, is there a correct way to delete, or should I just drag them into trash.
Finally, if I spotlight search a photo, several are found of the same photo - why is this and how can I clean it up.
As you have probably realised, I am not completely computer savvy and would appreciate any answers in a "Jack & Jill" style
Many thanks

Macssonew:
First, iPHoto creates a minimum of 2 versions of each photo imported into the library, the original and the thumbnail file. If you edit a photo in iPhoto a 3rd version is created in the Modified folder. You cannot change that. It's how iPhoto works.
I need more info on how you have things set up before I can advise you what your options are. How is your library setup currently? Do you copy files into the library when importing? Does the library contain the image files that are on the external HD?
For what I understand now, you might be better served with multiple libraries, one smaller library on your laptop with current photos and a larger library on the external HD with the remaining photos. You can copy events or albums between libraries with the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager and keep keywords, comments, titles and any edited version intact.
Or you might consider a more professional application, iView MediaPro, which can keep the "source" files on an external HD and have a catalog of them with thumbnails up to 640 x 480 on the laptop. You'd still be able to view the large thumbnails with the external HD not mounted assign keywords and other annotations, group into catalog sets or categories (albums in iPhoto), etc.
Going the alias route has some big pitfalls. Without the source files available you can only see the thumbnails at their small size. You can't move them to albums or assign keywords. It's pretty limiting. If you have any video files in the library you won't be able to use it at all. iPhoto will continuously ask you to locate the video file. It can't operated with the video file missing as it can with the still image files missing.
If you can describe exactly how things are set up and located we can better give you some ideas to pursue.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

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Hello everyone! Glad to have this great community to come to for help. I searched for this question but came up with no hits. If it's already been discussed, I apologize and would love to be directed to the link.
My wife and I have been using LR for a long time. We're currently on version 4. Unfortunately, she's not as tech-savvy or meticulous as I am, and she has been unknowingly "Removing" photos from the LR catalogues when she really meant to delete them from the hard disk. That means we have hundreds of unwanted raw photo files floating around in our computer and no way to pick them out from the ones we want! As a very organized and space-conscious person, I can't stand the thought. So my question is, what is the most efficient way to permanently delete these unwanted photos from the hard disk
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Hi there,
I am a new switcher, I bought a Macbook Pro last month...
I tried to manage my photo library with Iphoto but I cannot succeed in deleting pictures within Iphoto interface.
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I unchecked the box in preferences to copy pictures in IPhoto Library, of course.
Of course you did. And that explains why the photos are not removed from the HD.
When you uncheck this box you’re saying to iPhoto: ‘Don’t touch my photos, I want to manage them myself’. So, that means you need to get them from your camera to where ever you store them yourself. It also means that in the event of deleting them, you’ll need to do that too.
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