How to Delete Data from your CatBase Database

You have several ways to manage the deletion of data from your database. You can:

Allow records to be deleted instantly by any user
Allow only certain users to delete records
Disallow any immediate deletions: records are marked for deletion but are not immediately deleted
When importing data, delete all existing data in the table before importing fresh data
Delete all the data in a table by Zapping it.

Deletion Control

You can control whether records can be instantly deleted, or marked for deletion.

Go to the Admin main tab.
Select the Preferences topic on the left.
Go to the Data Entry tab. There you'll see the Data Deletion section:

When data is deleted:

Delete records immediately

When you select one or more records and then click the Delete button, CatBase will ask you to confirm that you want to delete the record(s) and if you approve, they will immediately be deleted from the database.

Mark records for deletion

The selected record(s) will not be deleted immediately, but the Delete option will be set for them. Records that are marked for deletion:

Appear in red text in the data list view.
Will not be published, unless the Include records marked for deletion checkbox is selected for a Publishing Stylesheet:

Record Deletion Tracking

If Record Deletion Tracking is On, each time a record is marked for deletion the user will be asked to enter a reason for the deletion.

Managing User Access to Deletions

For each User who does not have Administrator priveleges, you can designate whether they will be able to delete records or not.

Go to the Admin main tab.
Select the Users topic on the left.
Double-click the User you wish to manage

To allow the user to delete records or mark them for deletion (depending upon the Data Deletion option selected in Preferences), select the Can delete records checkbox.

Marking Records for Deletion

In the List View for the table containing the unwanted records, select the record or records you want to mark for deletion.
Click the Delete button at the top of the list.

Undeleting records

To un-delete records that have been marked for deletion:

In the List View for the table containing the unwanted records, select the record or records that you want to un-delete.
Right-click on the list and choose Un-Delete.

Deleting records that have been marked for deletion

You must be an Administrator to do this.

Go to the Admin main tab.
Expand the Deletions topic on the left.
Select Delete records from database.
Choose the table whose records you want to delete.
Review the list of records marked for deletion, and if you want to un-delete any of them, this is the time to do it!
To delete the records in the list, click the Delete Records Now button.

Zapping a Table

You must be an Administrator to do this.

This is a quick way to delete ALL the records in a table in one go.

USE WITH CAUTION!!!!!

Go to the Admin main tab.
Expand the Deletions topic on the left.
Select the table that you want to zap
Click Delete Records.

Deleting Records When Importing Data

Often when data is imported into a database, you want the incoming data to completely replace the existing data, rather than updating or adding records. To do this:

In your Import Stylesheet, go to the Updates tab.
Select the first radio button: Delete all records in the table before importing data.
When you click the Import Now button (or when data is imported as part of an Import Project), first of all the table will be zapped. Then the fresh data will be imported.

USE WITH CAUTION!!!!!

Download a PDF of this page