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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:

  • Delete the content - If you delete the content, it is removed completely. But it is possible to restore deleted topics and publications, if needed.

  • Move the content to the trash - Moving content to the trash means you can view the "deleted" content more easily, as you can see what is in the trash folder. You can restore content from the trash folder if needed. To learn about the move to trash feature, see Move to Trash.

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.

Delete Topics, Folders, and Other Components

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

  1. In the Content Manager, browse to the component that you want to delete.

  2. Select the options menu ( ... ) for the component and then select Delete.

    Content Manager showing a publication's options menu. The delete option is highlighted.

    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).

  3. If you want to proceed with the deletion, select Delete Items.

    Paligo deletes the component from the database.

    Note

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

Delete Content Inside Topics

As Paligo uses structured content, you have more control over deleting your content. With a single action, you can delete entire structures, individual elements, or only the content inside an element. This is one of the benefits of structured content. Depending on what you want to achieve, you can:

Tip

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of "parent" and "child" elements, see Understanding Content Structures.

  • Delete text and leave the structural elements in place

  • Delete an element but leave its content in place (this only applies for inline elements, such as emphasis and guilabel).

  • Delete an element to remove the content of the element. When you delete an element, Paligo will remove:

    • The selected element

    • Any text or other content inside the element

    • Any "child" elements inside the element

    • Any text or other content inside the "child" elements.

    XML tree view of an ordered list. At the top level it has ordered list, mediaobject, and then another ordered list. The mediaobject is incorrectly at the top level. It should be inside the third list item in the first orderedlist.

    You can view the structure by looking at the XML Tree View.

    mediaobject-in-element-structure-menu.jpg

    The structure from the top-level section to the currently selected element is also shown in the Element Structure Menu.

Note

As Paligo uses structured content, you cannot just highlight multiple sections of a page and press delete. That's not how structured content works. Your content elements are in a hierarchy and so need to be deleted as structures, either as individual elements or as "parent" plus "child" elements.

Tip

If you want to delete an inline element, such as emphasis, rather than an entire block of text, see Delete Inline Elements.

If you accidentally delete a paragraph, there is a way to restore it. You can use Reuse Text Fragments to search for the paragraph and then insert it again. However, this is only possible for a limited time period after the deletion took place (approximately one day). Alternatively, you could use Revert a Text Fragment to a Previous Revision.

Delete Elements with the XML Tree View

This section describes how to delete an element using the XML Tree View.

Caution

If you delete an element, you will also delete its "child" elements. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of "parent" and "child" elements, see Understanding Content Structures.

Tip

If you need to move the copy to a new position in the structure, select it in the XML Tree View and drag it to the new position.

  1. Open a topic in the Editor.

  2. Select the XML Tree View in the side panel.

  3. Expand the hierarchy until you can see the element that you want to delete.

    The XML Tree View shows the main elements in your topic as blue boxes, arranged in a hierarchy that matches the structure. Any box with a white cross has lower level content. If you select the white cross icon, the tree expands to show the lower levels.

    XML Tree View. It shows the hierarchical structure of the current topic. There are blue boxes for each of the block elements, organized in a hierarchy.
    XML tree view of a topic. It shows section at the top level. Second level elements are title, para, and table. Inside the table there is a tbody element. Inside the tbody element there are 5 tr elements, each representing a table row.

  4. Position the cursor over the element you want to delete.

    Paligo displays a copy icon and a delete icon.

    XML Tree View showing the structure of a topic. There is a section at the top level. Inside that, there is a title, para, and a table. The cursor is on the para element and there is a copy icon and a delete icon.

  5. Select the X to the right of the element to delete it

    select-delete-icon.jpg

  6. Select Confirm. If you are unsure, select to keep the content and abort the deletion.

    confirm-delete.jpg

    Note

    If you are unsure, select Cancel to keep the content and abort the deletion.

Delete Elements with the Element Structure Menu

You can use the Element Structure Menu to delete an element.

  1. Click inside the block element you want to delete.

  2. Select the same element in the Element Structure Menu. For example, if you wanted to delete a paragraph, select para.

    Paligo editor. A close-up of the Element Structure Menu shows that the para element has been selected, revealing a menu of options.

  3. Select Delete.

    Element structure menu. The para element is selected, revealing a menu. The delete option is highlighted in the menu.

    Paligo deletes the element.

  4. Select Save. Save icon.

Delete Elements with Keyboard Shortcuts

To use keyboard shortcuts to delete elements inside a topic:

  1. Click in the element you want to delete.

  2. Use the following keyboard shortcuts:

    Mac: Option ⌥ + Shift ⇧ + D

    Windows: Alt + Shift + D

    Paligo removes the element and the content inside the element, including any "child" elements.

Delete Inline Elements

To delete inline elements, such as guilabel, tag, and emphasis without deleting the content inside them:

  1. Click on the inline element you want to delete.

    Paligo editor. A paragraph has content with a guilabel on one word and emphasis on another word. The emphasis is selected. In the element structure menu, the emphasis element is shown.

    Paligo shows the element in the Element Structure Menu.

  2. Select the Remove Formatting button in the toolbar.

    Edit toolbar. The remove formatting button is highlighted. It is an eraser icon.

    Paligo deletes the inline element without deleting the content inside the inline element.

    Paligo editor. A paragraph is shown. Its inline emphasis element has been removed. The content that was inside the emphasis element remains in place.

Note

Alternatively, you can delete the inline element and the content inside it. To do this, click on the inline element and then either use a keyboard shortcut:

Mac: Option ⌥ + Shift ⇧ + F

Windows: Alt + Shift + F

OR

Select the element in the Element Structure Menu and then select Delete.

Paligo editor. The emphasis element is selected in the element structure menu. A drop down menu is shown and the delete option is highlighted.

Remove Attributes

Each element in Paligo can have attributes, which are properties. For example, a paragraph could have a role attribute with the value "example-style" so that it can be styled differently from other paragraphs by using CSS. If an attribute is no longer needed, you can delete it.

To remove an applied attribute:

  1. Select the element in the topic.

  2. Place the cursor in the Element Structure Menu below the toolbar.

    Element_Structure_Menu_small.png

    Note

    When you select an element in the Element Structure Menu, Paligo highlights it in yellow.

  3. Select the element and choose Go to element to show the attributes for this particular element.

    Remove_element_attributes_2.png

    The Element Attributes Panel. now shows the attributes for the selected element.

  4. Place the cursor over the attribute in the Element Attributes Panel and select the X to remove it from the element.

    Remove_element_attribute_3_small.png

  5. Select Save. Save icon.

Rules for Deleting Reused Content

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.

Find and Remove Dependencies

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.

Restore Deleted Content

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.

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