How do I Bulk Delete multiple pages as described in Confluence 6.0+?
Asked by Sten Sundelin:

Hi all,

We've recently upgraded from Confluence Server 5.10.1 to 6.8.2 and one of the new functions (from 6.0.1 on) is supposed to be the ability to delete multiple pages under a parent by a bulk function. I am writing test cases, but I can't seem to find how to do this type of Bulk Edit.

I am a Systems Administrator and also have all permissions in the Space, there are no restrictions in place. I can access Space tools and reorder pages, I can also delete a page and all sub-pages in one fell swoop, but I haven't been able to find how to mark a subset of sub-pages and then perform a Bulk Delete.

Feeling kind of stupid, what am I missing?


Answers:
author: EPS Software Engineering AG
body: Hi Sten,

Maybe our Page Tree Eraser App could be a solution for you. You can find it in the Marketplace. It has also some features to give users the ability to delete multi-pages, but in a very safe way.

Regards,  
Stephan (CEO of EPS Software Engineering AG, vendor of the Page Tree Eraser App)

comments: author: Sten Sundelin
body: Thanks, Stephan

I may take a look later.

It's not a huge problem for us (yet), but I am writing test cases for the upgrade and wanted to know how to use this (supposed) new function.

Guess I'll just mark the test case as failed or just delete it.

Thank you for your input!

Cheers,

Sten


author: Igor M.
body: Hello,

I do not believe that is is possible to delete multiple pages with a checkbox, the bulk delete is referring to **Also delete child pages**that Marek has mentioned. Your best option would be to first explain how to reorder pages, moving away those that do not need to be deleted, and then deleting a parent.

comments: author: Sten Sundelin
body: Thanks, Igor,

No, this is not it, at least not quite (even though this is a help, for sure).

I was expecting that <https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-5974> had actually been resolved by implementing checkboxes next to the pages in the page tree. The ticket description specifically states "**From a parent, I should be able to ++select via checkbox which pages I want to delete++ and delete them with one click.**" (my emphasis)

I believe that marking <https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-5974> as 'Fixed' may be misleading in that case, as being able to "delete multiple child pages from the parent page" as described is not the same as being able to delete ALL subpages from a parent page.

Cheers!

Sten


author: Igor M.
body: Hey,

I agree that the wording of the suggestion did indicate a selective option, however, in comments, it was mixed opinions in regards to how it should be implemented, bulk or selective.

As having selective child page deletion option is still a missing feature, I have created a new feature request for that: [CONFSERVER-55739](https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-55739), feel free to vote and comment on it, as it helps engineering team to prioritise on features when they know why and how big of an impact it has on you.

Our engineering team is reviewing all feature requests regularly, those that gather enough interest and can be implemented without a major redesign or impact will definitely be considered for future releases.

Regards,

Igor


author: Sten Sundelin
body: Thank You Igor, I really appreciate it.

I have voted for the suggestion [CONFSERVER-55739](https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-55739) and ask that anyone interested in this cast their vote as well.

***Make it a Great Day and a Better Tomorrow!***

//Sten


author: ?ukasz W?jcik
body: There's a trick for this.

1. You put the pages as children of one specific page (let's call it "parent").
2. You create a new space called "Trash" or something like this.
3. You use "move" on "parent" page and move all the pages to the new space.
4. You delete the "Trash space.

comments: author: Matthew_Huang
body: Problem I'm getting with this is that it will only delete the Parent page, and the children will move up to the same level as the parent.  

Can you enlighten me if it's just a lack of permission to bulk delete or I'm blind.  

Thanks


author: ?ukasz W?jcik
body: I'm not sure if you are referring to my solution, Matthew? I see no possibility of such behawior in my solution. You move all the unneeded content to some space (together with children), then you remove the whole space. It should move the whole content to trash.


author: Volodymyr Chugai
body: [@?ukasz W?jcik](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/2256538) cool workaround solution :)


author: Michele Lim [Cprime]
body: Hi Sten!

We have recently made a free plug in Power Scripts for Confluence which you can download from the Marketplace to help automate Confluence administration, one of the features is bulk deleting pages. Here's a short video on how to do it <https://youtu.be/v6VZGpv4G0Y?list=PLKTAla3ZrW8mMmYvgOVf3UPXU8V4nc-xj>

Hope this helps!

Michele


author: Mirek
body: Before 6.0.1 I used this method that always worked:

Create a temporary space then move all the pages into that space. Finally delete the space. :)

But yes since 6.0.x it should be possible to do it when deleting a page

**To delete a page hierarchy:**

1. Navigate to the parent page and choose ... \> **Delete**.
2. Choose **Also delete child pages** then hit **Next**.
3. We'll warn you of any issues, such as incoming links that will break. Choose **Delete** to proceed.

comments: author: Sten Sundelin
body: Thanks, Mirek, I know about the workaround, but I need to write a test case on how to use some checkboxes to mark certain sub-pages under a parent page to delete, then do a bulk delete.

I can't seem to find how to make those checkboxes appear.

(I also know about the new 'Also delete child pages' option. Thank you.)


Tags: confluence-server

server