Welcome > System > System settings > Retention policy

Retention policy

Retention policy defines the retention period and the number of versions to retain for certain items.

To optimize the database size, configure the retention policy for the items in the system so that the item is automatically removed from the database, once the retention period is over.

See Configure the retention policy.

Also see Retention policies in Kofax TotalAgility Best Practices Guide.

You can optionally retain a number of major versions of the following items:

  • Forms

  • Processes (including skins)

    Note A process version cannot be deleted if there is any job based on it (live or finished).

  • Business rules

  • Classification groups

    Note When a classification group is removed, the project needs to be removed from Transformation Designer.

  • Extraction groups

    Note When an extraction group is removed, the project needs to be removed from Transformation Designer. There is no need to perform a check on existing documents. The extraction group can be removed even if there are documents that reference it.

Retention period

The retention period is the number of days, months or years for which an item can be retained. Once the retention period is over, the item is automatically removed from the database. You can define the retention period for the following:

  • Internal users: Where the end date is greater than the retention period.

  • External users: Where the end date is greater than the retention period.

  • Audit log entries: Where the date logged is greater than the retention period.

  • Documents: Where the LastAccessedAt date is greater than the retention period. After document deletion, if there are no documents left within folder hierarchy, the retention policy also deletes the root folder. The retention policy does not delete Online Learning folders or their subfolders.

  • Folders: Where the LastAccessedAt date of the root folders is greater than the retention period (the value from document retention is used) and if the folder hierarchy does not contain any documents, and the folder hierarchy does not contain locked folders. The retention policy does not delete Online Learning folders or their subfolders.

    Note The retention policy does not delete the sub folders separately; they are deleted as part of root folder that matches the retention policy.

  • KCM packs: Where the created date is greater than the retention period.

You can configure the retention period for a specific process. The retention period defined at the process level takes precedence over the system settings.

Note The retention period for a job is defined at the process level. See Configure the retention period for a process.

Retention policy system task

The Retention Policy system task handles deleting items from the database. By default, this system task runs once a week (minimum: 1 hour). If you want to review the items marked for deletion, the system task can be scheduled to run less frequently. On the contrary, if you want to delete the items without viewing them, the system task can be scheduled to run more frequently.

Note By default, the Retention Policy system task deletes the first 1000 jobs and documents that are ready for deletion. For example, if there are 1500 jobs and 2000 documents ready for deletion, when the Retention Policy task executes the first time, only 1000 jobs and documents are deleted. When the Retention Policy task executes the second time, the remaining 500 jobs and 1000 documents are deleted.

For example, if the retention policy system task runs weekly (on a Sunday) and a job is to be retained for 1 week:

  • Job is completed on Monday (1st)
  • The earliest the job can be deleted is Monday (8th)
  • Retention Policy task runs on Sunday (7th). As the job is not ready to be deleted, it will remain in the system.
  • Retention Policy task next runs on the following Sunday (14th). The job will now be deleted.

Depending on the frequency of the retention policy task in relation to the retention policy of the item, something to be retained for 1 week may actually take nearly 2 weeks to be deleted.

If you set the Retention Policy for a month, the system task deletes the items regardless of number of days in a month. For example:

  • System task executes on March 29, YYYY 17:00. If this is not a leap year, all jobs (based on Process ABC) completed and terminated before February 28, YYYY 17:00 are deleted.

  • System task executes on March 29, YYYY 17:00. If this is a leap year, all jobs (based on Process ABC) completed and terminated before February 29, YYYY 17:00 are deleted.