# From delete to restore

Delete a contact tag by mistake, find it in the recycle bin, read its snapshot, restore it and open the record that comes back.

**Recycle Bin** is a safety net for a wrong delete. Before any record is removed, the app keeps a copy of it: one entry per record, with who deleted it and when, the values it held and an image of those values called the snapshot. A manager opens the entry and restores the record. This walk-through deletes a contact tag of its own and brings it back, from the delete to the record you can open again. A tag is used because nothing depends on it.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the **Manager** access right on **Recycle Bin**, in the **Administration** section of your user. At installation only the administrator has it; [Give access to the recycle bin](give-access-to-the-recycle-bin) shows how to grant it.
- Creating and deleting a contact tag needs the **Contact** access right at **Creation**, the same as for contacts.
- Nothing has to be switched on: by default the bin keeps every kind of record a user can delete, except a few technical ones such as attachments and messages ([How the recycle bin works](how-the-recycle-bin-works#never-kept)). [Recycle bin settings](recycle-bin-settings) explains how to narrow it.

## Step 1: delete a tag {#delete}

1. Open **Contacts/Configuration/Contact Tags** and click **New**. A new line opens at the end of the list.
2. Type the name `Recycle bin demo: Pending files` and click **Save**. The tag takes a color of its own.
3. Tick the box at the start of its line, then open the **Actions** menu, the gear button above the list, and choose **Delete**.

![The new tag is selected; Delete in the Actions menu removes it.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12049-058385b8/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-delete_tag-en.png)

On a phone, the list shows no boxes: touch and hold the line until it is selected, then open **Actions** at the top of the list.

4. The dialog **Bye-bye, record!** warns that the record will be gone forever. Click **Delete**. The tag leaves the list, but the bin has already kept its copy. Deleting and archiving are explained in [Create, edit and delete a record](/docs/essentials/create-edit-and-delete-a-record).

## Step 2: find it in the bin {#find}

1. Click the home menu button at the top left and open **Recycle Bin**, the last app of the grid.

![The Recycle Bin app on the home menu.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12051-726d714a/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-home_recycle_bin-en.png)

2. The list shows the newest deletion first, so your tag is the first line. **Deleted at** is the time of the delete in your time zone, **Deleted by** is you, **Model** names the kind of record (**Partner Tags** for a contact tag), **Name** is the name the tag had, and the **Status** reads **Deleted**. The demo lines below it were deleted between 20 and 22 October 2026.

![The deleted tag is the first line of the bin, with the time, the user who deleted it and its model.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12055-194b8e86/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-bin_top_row-en.png)

3. Click the line to open the entry. The group **Deleted Data Informations** repeats the model, gives the **Deleted Record ID**, the number the tag had in the database, and names the company. Below it, the **Snapshot** shows what the tag held at the moment of the delete: its name, its color as a number and **Active**. It is drawn in your language at the time of the delete. The **Data in JSON** tab under it holds the same values in technical form: those are the values a restore uses.

![The entry of the deleted tag, with the snapshot of its values.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12059-c8a0e8d1/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-entry_snapshot-en.png)

## Step 3: restore it {#restore}

1. Open the **Actions** menu of the entry and choose **Restore**. The choice is there only while the entry is **Deleted**.

![Restore sits in the Actions menu of a deleted entry.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12063-190f0d3b/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-restore_action-en.png)

On a phone, the **Actions** button sits at the top left of the entry.

2. The dialog asks "Are you sure to restore this data?". Click **Ok**.

![The question asked before the record is created again.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12065-55ebad43/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-restore_confirm-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog fills the screen, with the same buttons at the bottom.

3. The status turns **Restored**, and the group **Restored Informations** appears: **Restored at**, **Restored by** and the **Restored Record ID**. Compare that number with the **Deleted Record ID**: they differ, because the tag was created again as a new record from the saved values. The delete itself is not undone.

![The entry is Restored and shows when, by whom and under which new ID.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12067-3f917e37/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-entry_restored-en.png)

## Step 4: open the record that came back {#open}

1. Click the **Restored Record** button at the top of the entry. On a phone, it sits behind the lightning button next to **Actions**.

![The Restored Record button opens the record that was created again.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12071-03c77a94/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-restored_record_button-en.png)

2. The tag opens with its name and its color, ready to use. It is back in **Contacts/Configuration/Contact Tags** as well, and you can put it on contacts again.

![The tag is back, as a new record with the same name.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12073-44eb3ecf/recycle-bin-delete-to-restore-tag_back-en.png)

The entry stays in the bin, now marked **Restored** and shown in green in the list. It is removed with the other entries once it is older than the retention period of [Recycle bin settings](recycle-bin-settings), 30 days by default.

## What you have done {#what-you-have-done}

You deleted a record, found its entry in the bin with who deleted it and when, read the values it held in its snapshot, and restored it as a new record with the same name. This tag comes back whole because nothing used it yet. A contact, a document or a case carries more: its messages, its files, its activities and the links from other records. [Restore a record and check the result](restore-a-record-and-check-the-result) lists what comes back and what does not, and [Find a deleted record](find-a-deleted-record) shows how to search a busy bin. [How the recycle bin works](how-the-recycle-bin-works) explains what the bin keeps and which deletes never reach it.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/recycle-bin/from-delete-to-restore
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Version: Recycle bin 19.0.1.1.2
- Verified: 2026-10-27