How to delete Assets
There are a number of images/files in Assets that I used when building the site (temporary images/files) that I don't want to appear in Assets when my client logs in. How can I delete them?
There are a number of images/files in Assets that I used when building the site (temporary images/files) that I don't want to appear in Assets when my client logs in. How can I delete them?
They will disappear as part of cleanup as long as they have not been used in any content and are not set as a Library Asset. If they have been used in content then they will naturally stay around until they drop out of the history stack.
When does cleanup occur?
The history stack is 8 edits deep by default. On the 9th edit, an unused asset will drop out of the stack and be eligible for clean up.
Assets are cleaned up if:
Ok, thank you.
I really need to delete some of the assets I didn't intend the client to see, so I'll delete them from the database.
It would be useful to be able to delete when managing Assets.
Would be nice if it's possible to delete assets, I have a site with a lot of images that I uploaded different times to see the difference in quality and now I have really many assets with almost the same name. Would be nice if I could clean up this things now it's a mess.
+1 for ability to manually delete
How would you all propose to manage that so a client can't destroy their history stack by removing images that are part of the Undo history. Even just from a UI point of view that's going to be confusing as an image in the stack may not appear to be in use on the site.
Currently images will clean themselves up as they fall out of the stack. If you've just uploaded them to look at them and not used them in content they will go after 24 hours.
It's unlikely that I'd upload them just to look at them. I use them in content to see what they'll look like on the web page during the design and testing stages.
Removing/replacing the image in content, then waiting for 9 edits + 24 hrs isn't feasible really, but I understand what you mean about breaking the undo history.
I'd imagine at some point clients are going to ask how to delete assets too, such as an out of date price list or menu, that they don't want other editors to unwittingly use. Telling them 'it's 9 edits + 24hrs so as not to break the undo history' isn't really an answer.
It's a difficult conundrum.
How about a trash bin (pardon the Americanism)?
If a file is marked as 'deleted' it's moved to the trash and 'hidden' (filtered basically) from the assets list for 9 edits + 24 then removed. If the file is still used in content it'll stay in trash until it's unused. 'Trashed' items can be viewed and restored by clicking on a trashed items link next to the Asset type and Bucket links. Maybe that's a solution.
Hiding as asset is one thing - I think we could probably do that. Automatically unhiding isn't as easy.
What do you mean by 'Automatically unhiding'? At what point would that function be performed?
When you undo a delete so that the asset comes back into use, would that not need to unhide it?
Yes, un-deleting it would need to in hide it, that's true.
Hiding sounds like a good middle-ground, though I think if a user specifically deleted an image (rather than removing/changing it) they would understand they couldn't "undo" it back into existence.
Our experience tells us that many users wouldn't. We try really hard to make Perch easy to use for the end client who isn't technical. The fact that Undo steps back through a history is of stored stuff is pretty obvious to anyone who uses a computer every day ... but isn't necessarily obvious to someone who has no need to know the nuts and bolts of this stuff.
One of our big aims with Perch is to keep things simple and logical for your clients. To try and minimize the number of phone calls you get from an editor who tells you that "all of a sudden it just disappeared!". Which is why we don't do things until we have really thought them through and gathered use cases. We will always err on the side of not deleting stuff if we haven't figured out a way to do it that isn't likely to cause accidental data loss.
Thanks for the detailed response Rachel. That's a great example of why Perch is such a useful product - the careful decisions that go into each feature (rather than blindly making what people ask for!).
I wonder if a "Clean History" and maybe a "Clear Assets" option may be a good idea for a Super Admin (site developer) only. I don't know about others, but I use a lot of dummy assets and content when developing a site. Whilst I keep to the "Times Square" rule, It may be nice to prevent a user stepping back through my dummy edits once the "keys are handed over"
Interestingly the WP approach is an option to 'Delete file permanently' which hides it permanently from Assets/Media, but still honours the asset if it's used on a page.
Which pretty much describes what you said Drew:
I think that's a pretty good solution.
Would it be possible to know if an asset was part of a history revision and then warn them that in deleting that asset it would break the history on x,y,z pages?
Also do you know how frequent the undo is used? I am not sure any of my clients actually use it if I am honest. Sure others do though?
Hiding or temp removing might be the best approach, a bucket for removed assets perhaps? That can be turned on/off to show/hide any 'removed' assets"
OK, fairly new to asset management here but I will need to delete most assets I have used during development for similar reasons to those posted above.
Can I ask what best practice now is now on this front? Would it work if I emptied the resources folder? Or is there an option to switch off the asset management module? I imagine it's useful in some cases and I know a lot of people wanted to see it but at the moment it seems to be an issue.
In short, what's the recommended way to remove an image from assets that I simply used in testing that I don't want the client to see?
Thanks!