When something does not work
A delete was refused
The refusal names every holder at once. Start there.
Last updated 1 min readFor team members
Read the message first
The refusal is a complete list of what is blocking the delete — not only the first thing found. So you can clear all of it in one pass.
The order is usually bottom-up: content first, then its container. Services before the line, engagements before the client.
Common cases
A contact with no work will not delete
- What it means
- Something points at them that is not obvious: a seat at an organisation, attendance at a meeting, or their individual-client record.
- What to do
- The refusal names these. Meeting attendance is removed from that meeting's participant list.
A document I no longer need will not delete
- What it means
- A spread row or a workbench finding cites it.
- What to do
- Remove the citation from that spread or finding, and the document deletes.
An engagement created by mistake will not delete
- What it means
- As soon as the first stage move happens, history exists and the engagement is no longer deletable.
- What to do
- Close and archive it instead. Reporting separates it out and the history stays intact.
The message says only an admin can delete this
- What it means
- The record is old and has no recorded creator.
- What to do
- Ask a workspace admin to do it.
Read this next
- Security & dataWhat refuses to deleteOne rule across the product: anything with real work attached does not quietly go.
- Contacts & engagementsDelete a contact or a clientWhat blocks a delete, why, and how to clear it in one pass.
- Service catalogueRename, retire and deleteThree different actions with three different outcomes — and which one keeps the history.
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