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Delete Content

Abstract

Learn how to delete content in Paligo or move it to the trash. You can also restore trashed or deleted content.

To remove content from Paligo, you can either:

  • Exit_Topic_ContributorEditor_small.png Delete the content - It removes the content from your database (although it can be restored).

  • Trash_can.jpg Move to trash - Places the "deleted" content in the trash folder, where you can see it, but it is no longer a piece of "live" content that you can work with. You can restore it if needed, so that it becomes "live" content again.

    Both approaches will remove the content, but there is an advantage to using Move to Trash - the trash folder is visible in the Content Manager, so you can easily see what content has been removed.

    Trash folder in the Content Manager shows the content that has been sent to trash.

Note

If you have content that is reused, Paligo may prevent you from deleting it. This is so that you do not accidentally delete a topic or publication that is needed elsewhere.

To find out about the checks Paligo makes and how you can delete reused content, see Rules for Deleting Reused Content and Find and Remove Dependencies.

You can use the Content Manager to delete components, such as topics, informal topics, and images.

Paligo will check to see if the component has any dependencies. Your content has a dependency if it is reused in another topic or publication or if another topic links to your content. If there is a dependency, Paligo will either ask you if you want to proceed with the deletion or it will tell you the component cannot be deleted, see Rules for Deleting Reused Content.

Tip

If you have accidentally deleted a publication or topic, you can restore it from the dashboard, see Restore Deleted Content.

  1. Locate the component you want to delete in the Content Manager.

  2. Select the dotted menu (...) for the component and choose Delete.

    Content Manager showing a publication's options menu. The delete option is highlighted.
  3. Confirm the deletion with Delete Items to delete the component from the database.

Tip

Selecting multiple components at the same time in the Content Manager works just like in most file browsers. Collect them by holding down:

  • Shift to select the first and last topics in a range of topics.

  • Cmd ⌘ (Mac) / Ctrl (Windows) key to select or deselect individual items.

Click_outside_component_name_small.jpg

Click outside the actual name to avoid opening them in the Editor.

Then use the dotted menu (...) to the right of a component to select an option.

When you try to delete content, Paligo will check how the deletion will affect your remaining topics. If the remaining topics will be broken by the deletion, Paligo will either:

  • Prevent you from deleting the content

  • Ask you if you want to go ahead with the deletion, even though the content will break links in other topics.

To do this, Paligo has some internal rules that involve checking your content for "dependencies". A dependency is when a topic or some other component needs to reference another component.

The checks that Paligo runs include:

  • Do any topics link to the component you are trying to delete?

  • Do any publications contain the component you are trying to delete?

  • Do any topics contain the component you are trying to delete?

  • Are there any components with dependencies inside the folder (this only applies to folders)?

If the answer is yes, there is a dependency. Depending on the scenario, Paligo will either ask you if you want to proceed with the deletion or it will tell you that the component cannot be deleted.

If you choose to proceed with a deletion, the component will be deleted, but this will result in broken links and missing content from other topics. It is a good idea to remove these dependencies before you delete, so that other topics do not have missing content.

If Paligo will not allow you to delete the component, you can Find and Remove Dependencies, and then try again. When there are no dependencies, Paligo will let you delete the component.

If Paligo will not allow you to delete content because of dependencies, you will either need to keep the content or remove the dependencies.

You can use the Metadata information to find the dependencies, and then you will need to delete those manually in each topic, publication, or other component. To access the Metadata information, select the options menu ( ... ) for the reused publication or topic you want to delete, and then select Edit > Open Structure.

The metadata section for a topic. It shows information about the topic, including its dependencies.

The dependencies information is in the Used in, Uses, and Related publications categories. To find out more, see Find Where Content is Reused.

Have you accidentally deleted a publication or topic? Don't worry, you can recover them from the Activity Feed on your dashboard.

Note

You can only restore deleted topics and publications.

Note

If you moved content to the trash rather than deleted it, see Move to Trash.

  1. Select Dashboard in the top menu in Paligo.

    Paligo header menu has a Dashboard option.

    Paligo displays your dashboard.

  2. In the Activity Feed section of your dashboard, find the activity record that was made when you deleted the content.

  3. Select the Restore Document option.

    restore-a-topic.jpg

    Paligo displays the Restore Document dialog.

  4. Use the Restore Document dialog to choose where the restored content should go.

    restore-document-dialog.jpg
  5. Select Restore.

    Paligo recovers the deleted content and places it in the folder you selected in step 4.

The advantage of using Move to Trash is that the trash folder is visible in the Content Manager, so you easily see what content has been removed.

If you place content in the trash it is no longer a piece of the "live" content that you can work with. You can restore it if needed to make it become "live" content again.

Note

If a topic is in the trash, but is still used in a publication, this is shown in both the publication's Structure View and the sub-tree in the Content Manager. In those, the topic is shown as "grayed out" and in italic.

trash-cm.png
trash-sv.png

To move content to the Trash folder:

  1. Find the topic or other component in the Content Manager, and select its dotted menu (...).

  2. Select Move to trash. Trash_can.jpg

    ContextMenuMoveToTrash.png

Tip

Selecting multiple components at the same time in the Content Manager works just like in most file browsers. Collect them by holding down:

  • Shift to select the first and last topics in a range of topics.

  • Cmd ⌘ (Mac) / Ctrl (Windows) key to select or deselect individual items.

Click_outside_component_name_small.jpg

Click outside the actual name to avoid opening them in the Editor.

Then use the dotted menu (...) to the right of a component to select an option.

If you place content in the Trash and later decide you need to move it back into your "live" content, you can restore it. Once restored, the content is available in the Content Manager.

  1. In the Content Manager, open the Trash folder and find the component(s) that you want to restore.

    trash-folder.jpg
  2. Select the dotted menu (...) for the component(s) and then select Put back.

    The Put back option is only available if the folder that originally contained the trashed content still exists. If there is no Put back option, you can restore the component by dragging it from the trash into a folder in the Content Manager.

    When you restore, Paligo turns the "trashed" component back into a "normal" component.

Tip

Selecting multiple components at the same time in the Content Manager works just like in most file browsers. Collect them by holding down:

  • Shift to select the first and last topics in a range of topics.

  • Cmd ⌘ (Mac) / Ctrl (Windows) key to select or deselect individual items.

Click_outside_component_name_small.jpg

Click outside the actual name to avoid opening them in the Editor.

Then use the dotted menu (...) to the right of a component to select an option.

If you are sure that you do not want to keep the content in the trash folder, you can delete it by "emptying the trash". However, you cannot empty the trash if it contains content that has dependencies.

A dependency is when a topic or publication is used elsewhere, either as content reuse or as the target of a link. For example, if you have an "Introduction" topic in your trash, you cannot delete it if a "live" topic contains a link to it. The "live" topic is dependent on the topic in the trash, as its link will not work if the topic in the trash is permanently deleted.

To empty the trash:

  1. In the Content Manager, open the Trash folder and find the components that you want to delete.

  2. Select the dotted menu ( ... ) and then select Delete.

    Paligo will check to see if the content follows the Rules for Emptying the Trash. If it does, Paligo will delete the content.

Tip

Selecting multiple components at the same time in the Content Manager works just like in most file browsers. Collect them by holding down:

  • Shift to select the first and last topics in a range of topics.

  • Cmd ⌘ (Mac) / Ctrl (Windows) key to select or deselect individual items.

Click_outside_component_name_small.jpg

Click outside the actual name to avoid opening them in the Editor.

Then use the dotted menu (...) to the right of a component to select an option.

You can move any component to the trash, even if that component is reused. But you will not be able to empty the trash if it contains components that have dependencies, such as:

Note

If content in the trash has dependencies, but only to other content in the trash, then it can be deleted. Paligo will only stop a component from being deleted from the trash if it has a dependency to "live" content i.e. content that is not in the trash.

  • A topic that is reused in other topics that are not in the trash

  • A topic that is the target of links in other topics that are not in the trash

  • A publication that is reused in another publication

  • A publication that is the target of links in topics that are not in the trash.

To empty the trash, you must first deal with the dependencies. This may mean removing links to the topic or removing the topic from inside other topics. To find out more, see Find Where Content is Reused.

You can move any component to the trash, even if that component is reused. But you will not be able to empty the trash if it contains components that have dependencies, such as:

Note

If content in the trash has dependencies, but only to other content in the trash, then it can be deleted. Paligo will only stop a component from being deleted from the trash if it has a dependency to "live" content i.e. content that is not in the trash.

  • A topic that is reused in other topics that are not in the trash

  • A topic that is the target of links in other topics that are not in the trash

  • A publication that is reused in another publication

  • A publication that is the target of links in topics that are not in the trash.

To empty the trash, you must first deal with the dependencies. This may mean removing links to the topic or removing the topic from inside other topics. To find out more, see Find Where Content is Reused.