Advanced Techniques - Time-controlled automatic deletion of data
In this workshop, you will discover how you can use a time-controlled
process to mark data for deletion that is subject to a retention period or
needs to be deleted after a defined time period.
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Processes that automatically delete data should be checked carefully
before they are implemented into a live system.
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You can download an example application and process
here.
Application
When you open the application, you will see that it is intended for managing
documents, and that the "Documents" data group contains a Boolean data field
called "Delete".
Process
The filter in the
global timer "Delete after 3 years"
moves the current date into the past to define the threshold for the deletion.
If the creation date of the respective data record drops below this threshold,
the data record will be deleted. Why is the date moved into the past?
In this example graphic, the data record from 01.06.2016 would be
deleted when the threshold is today or lies +3 years in the future (based
on an automatic deletion after 3 years). The threshold becomes active when
the current date exceeds 01.01.2021 in our example. The threshold
for the data record from 01.06.2016 would be 01.06.2019.
Therefore the current data must always be moved into the past (e.g. -3 years)
so that the deletion is performed currectly.
In the
data group action "Set delete mark",
the user-defined value "Yes" (true) is mapped in the
field assignment
to the Boolean data field from the
example application.
This action is performed for all data records that the filter in the
global timer "Delete after 3 years"
applies to.
The data records marked for deletion can be deleted permanently in the next step
of the process. The deletion is performed with a timed offset so that
the data record can be restored in an emergency. A similar process
is used in
Intrexx Share
when a user deletes their Share profile or the user data record is deleted.
After a 24 hour delay, the profile is deleted permanently. Within these
24 hours, the profile deletion can be undone either by the profile owner
or the administrator. The deletion validation can, for example, also be
applied based on a release date (document management, approvals)
or on the end of an appointment in the calendar.