Setting Instance Records for Deletion (Soft Delete Functionality)
- 1 Introduction
- 2 1. Who Can Set Records for Deletion?
- 3 2. How to Select Records for Deletion
- 4 3. Previewing Records Before You Make Changes
- 5 4. Defining and Previewing Changes Before You Commit Them
- 6 5. What Happens When You Commit Changes?
- 7 6. Reviewing Updated Records and Error & Warning
- 8 7. Viewing Bulk Edit Logs
- 9 8. What’s Not Supported
Introduction
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for using the Bulk Edit app in FOLIO to set instance records for deletion in bulk—a feature introduced in the Trillium release. Designed to support efficient record management, this functionality allows users to suppress instance records—whether created directly in FOLIO or derived from MARC bibliographic data—from staff view and public discovery, without permanently removing them from the system. The process supports both types of records and includes tools for previewing changes, reviewing logs, and handling errors.
1. Who Can Set Records for Deletion?
To mark instance records for deletion or remove the deletion flag, users must have the appropriate authorization rules assigned. To ensure the authorization is configured correctly, the following capabilities must be in place:
2. How to Select Records for Deletion
You can choose records in two ways:
Build a query using the Query tab in the Bulk Edit app.
Upload a list of instance identifiers (UUIDs or HRIDs), for example exported from Inventory
2.1 Identifying records by building a query
To build a query:
Navigate to the Query tab in the Bulk Edit app.
Select Inventory – Instance as the record type.
Click Build Query and define your criteria.
Test the query and click Run Query to retrieve matching records.
2.2 Identifying records by submitting a list of UUIDs
To use a list of identifiers:
Perform a search in Inventory.
Export the UUIDs or HRIDs of the matching records.
In the Bulk Edit app, select Inventory – Instances as the record type.
Choose Instance UUIDs or HRIDs as the identifier type and upload the file.
After downloading the file with instance UUIDs, it can be used to initiate a bulk edit job by selecting "Inventory - Instances" as the record type and "Instance UUIDs" as the record identifier:
3. Previewing Records Before You Make Changes
Before making any changes, you can:
Preview the selected records.
Preview errors and warnings.
Export the preview in .csv format.
Export errors and warnings in .csv format, which include record identifiers and brief descriptions of the encountered issue.
4. Defining and Previewing Changes Before You Commit Them
4.1 FOLIO Instances
To set FOLIO instance records for deletion, start on the Matching Records form. Open the Actions menu and select the FOLIO Instances option. This will open the Bulk Edit form.
Within the form, the option to set records for deletion is located under the Administrative data section. Once the “Set records for deletion” option and the “Set true” action are selected, the Confirm changes button becomes active, allowing the user to proceed.
When FOLIO instances are marked for deletion, the system also sets the Staff suppress and Suppress from discovery flags to true. These changes are displayed in the “Are you sure?” confirmation form, where users can review all affected columns. Before committing, users also have the option to download the proposed changes in .csv format for further review.
4.2 Instance With Source Set to MARC
To set MARC-based instances for deletion, on the Matching Records form open the Actions menu and select the Instances with source MARC option. This will open the Bulk Edit form.
Within the form, the option to set records for deletion is located under the Administrative data option in the Bulk edits for administrative data accordion. Once the “Set records for deletion” option and the “Set true” action are selected, the Confirm changes button becomes active, allowing the user to proceed.
When MARC-based instances are marked for deletion, the system applies changes to both the Inventory record and the underlying MARC bibliographic record:
In the Inventory record, the Staff suppress and Suppress from discovery flags are set to
true.In the MARC bib record, the following updates are made:
LDR 05is set to"d"005is updated with the current date and time
Inventory record changes are displayed in the “Are you sure?” confirmation form, where users can review all affected columns and download the proposed changes in .csv format. Changes to the MARC records can be downloaded in .mrc format, allowing users to preview them before committing.
4.3 “Suppress from discovery” and “Staff suppressed” Flags
When the Set records for deletion flag is set to true, the Suppress from discovery and Staff suppress flags are automatically set to true as well. This means that they do not need to be included separately in a bulk edit job. However, if a user decides to include them in the bulk edit job they will be by default set to true without an option to be modified.
Setting the Set records for deletion flag to false does not automatically reset the Suppress from discovery and Staff suppress flags to false. If these flags also need to be cleared, they must be explicitly set to false in the bulk edit job.
5. What Happens When You Commit Changes?
Once committed, records are soft deleted, meaning they’re hidden but not permanently removed.
For FOLIO instances:
Marked as staff suppressed.
Suppressed from discovery.
Excluded from default search results.
For Instances with source MARC:
MARC record is updated:
LDR05is set to “d”the current date and time
The underlying SRS record is updated (not displayed in the UI):
discoverySuppressed = truedeleted = true
The instance record is:
Staff suppressed.
Suppressed from discovery.
Hidden from default search results.
⚠️ Note: Records are not hard deleted, and any existing dependencies (e.g., holdings, items) remain intact.
6. Reviewing Updated Records and Error & Warning
After committing changes:
The Confirmation form displays the updated records.
You can download:
Updated records in .csv format (FOLIO and MARC instances)
Updated records in .mrc format (MARC instances)
Any errors or warnings encountered during selection or commit are logged and exportable in .csv format.
7. Viewing Bulk Edit Logs
Use the Bulk Edit Logs tab to access files generated during a bulk edit job. These logs include matching records, preview files before the changes are committed, files with updated records, and error reports. All files remain available for 30 days after the bulk edit job is completed, allowing users to review or download them as needed.
8. What’s Not Supported
Hard deletion of instance records is not supported.
Setting for deletion of instances with other than FOLIO or MARC sources is not supported.