Configuring safe trash purge

When a user deletes a node (document, folder, mail or record) from OpenKM, it goes to the user’s trash. Periodically users should empty their trash to free repository space.

Caution

When the user empties the trash, the documents are permanently lost.

That means if the trash is accidentally cleaned, the nodes can only be restored from a previous backup, usually by restoring a full database and repository backup, which is a tedious task.

Note

The administrator can clean all application trashes with Purge trashes utility.

Tip

You can configure a place where the documents will go after being purged from trash.

If you need to recover an accidentally deleted node, then it will not be necessary to restore the entire application from backup.

You can configure a directory in the server file system where an export of the trash will be placed, using the “repository.purgatory.home” configuration parameter. Each time before a node is permanently removed from the trash, the application exports it (using the Repository export feature) to the purgatory home folder, creating a subfolder structure “YEAR/MONTH/DAY” that can help the administrator locate the data to be recovered. To recover the data use the Repository import feature with the Metadata option checked.

Field / Property	Type	Description
repository.purgatory.home	String	Sets the safe trash purge destination folder. /mnt/backup/trash

Note

It is good practice to back up the purgatory home folder, at least for a prudent period (1-2 months depending on your company policy).