Welcome back to the blog series Big Little Things, where we highlight some of the lesser-known and sometimes overlooked features and enhancements in Vtiger CRM that pack a big punch.
For this chapter, I am going to focus on the Recycle Bin. Now, I know it may seem odd initially to focus on such a feature, but there are several tasks you can perform through the Recycle Bin you may not be aware of currently.
What is the Recycle Bin?
In simple terms, the Recycle Bin is an archive of deleted CRM records. Any records that were deleted manually within the CRM or automatically through a 2-way sync or import merge will end up in the Recycle Bin. The records are sorted in the Recycle Bin based on which Module they were created within.
The records that were deleted will then be stored in the Recycle Bin for thirty days. Once thirty days have passed, the deleted records will be permanently removed from the Recycle Bin and will no longer be available to be recovered.
The Recycle Bin has two primary features: permanently deleting and restoring deleted records. It is best to think of the Recycle Bin as the final step to permanently deleting information from the CRM.
Where is the Recycle Bin?
The Recycle Bin is available in the Main Menu within the Tools app.
Removing Items from the Recycle Bin
Removing items from the Recycle Bin is as easy as it is first deleting the records themselves. Of course, the records will be removed automatically in thirty days. However, if you have security regulations that need to be followed or need to clear up additional storage space within the CRM, this will be the process to follow.
You can clear all records in the Recycle Bin from all modules by clicking on the red ‘Empty Recycle Bin’ button.
For records in a specific module, you will first want to select the module of the records you wish to delete.
From here, you can select one or all of the records by selecting the boxes to the left of each record and then click on the red trash can icon now available as an action icon.
Restore Records from the Recycle Bin
If you made a mistake in deleting a record, whether it was from records being merged when importing or from manually deleting records, then that record can be restored from the recycle bin.
To restore records, you will first want to select the module of the records you wish to restore and then select one or all of the records by clicking on the boxes to the left of each record. Once the records are selected, click on the restore record icon to bring the records back into the CRM.
As a side note, if the record was deleted due to merging duplicate records, the previously linked information will not be restored as it will now be connected to the record that was retained during the merging of the two records.
The Recycle Bin is an often overlooked feature that can help you and your team further manage the data in your CRM and easily restore records that were unintentionally deleted.
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