---
title: "Delete"
source: https://dev.pageseeder.com/reference/glossary/delete.html
description: "PageSeeder discourages deletion due to XLink architecture complexities; archiving is preferred to preserve collection integrity. Deletion is available only when enabled in global properties for specific use cases."
last_updated: 2026-08-11T16:38:06+10:00
tokens: ~344
---

# Delete

In general, PageSeeder doesn’t encourage ‘deleting’. Even when it isn’t obvious by appearance, the PageSeeder [XLink](/reference/glossary/xlink.md) architecture means that most information objects are created by processing links to users, content and context.

Although a single PageSeeder comment might look like a normal email message when viewed through an email client, the creation of that message requires resolving many links between objects on the server.

The problem with deleting information on PageSeeder is that it can undermine the integrity of the collection as a whole. Deleting the document where a comment was lodged won’t change the comment, but without a location, it might become unreachable.

This is why users are encouraged to use the [archive](/reference/glossary/archive.md) function rather than delete. Archive removes the document from the [index](/reference/index.md) while preserving the integrity of the collection.

There are legitimate use cases for ‘delete’. Large collections of test documents is one circumstance where archiving might consume an unnecessary amount of resources for little benefit.

To enable delete, use either of the following settings in the [global properties](/guide/configuration/properties/global_properties.md):

```properties
adminEnable=delete-documents
```

```text
managerEnable=delete-documents
```