Discontinued images that you no longer wish to show in the Image library should be removed. Do not delete them however, as you may want to reuse them again in future. Instead, simply unpublish or archive the image.

Deleting images permanently removes them from the system. Therefore, follow best practice asset management protocol and simply unpublish or archive them — so they can later be retrieved, if required.

There are several ways to remove an image from the Image library:

1. Unpublishing the image,
2. Archiving the image (recommended).

Choose the method that best suits your purposes.
 

Unpublishing the image

For an image to appear in the Image library frontend, it must be published^^. Therefore, to hide an image from public view, yet retain it in the backend, simply unpublish it. Note that, by default, ‘Image Suppliers’ cannot publish or unpublish images. They can only upload images.

^^ Please note that there is an exception to this rule. Privileged member groups (usually Editors & Admins) can be given access to these unpublished/archived images without logging into the backend. See “Frontend display settings” below for more detail.

When to use this method?
When images are first created, they are unpublished. It’s best to keep them unpublished until they are ready for release. Also, if you want to temporarily hide an image, simply unpublish it, as all image properties, member attributes and details are kept intact.

To unpublish the image:

1. Select the image in the Media section.
2. Select the ‘Properties’ tab and click the toggle to Unpublished.
   
   
3. Remember to click the Save button.
    

Archiving the Image

When to use this method?
If a previously published image becomes discontinued and is no longer needed, simply archive it. Archiving tells users that the image was once available but is now no longer current or in use. It should not be deleted however — You never know when you might need it again! Remember, some Government agencies require you to keep a copy of all assets for a period of seven years.

To archive an asset:

1. Go to the Media > Image node and select the Properties tab.
2. Check the Archive checkbox.
    
   
3. Remember to click the Save button.

Note: It is not necessary to unpublish an image if you simply want to archive it. Although unpublishing an image hides it from public view, unpublishing overrides the “Archive” state, so references to it will be flagged as “Unpublished” rather than “Archived”.

If you want to discuss the best method appropriate to your asset management needs, please contact our Professional Services team.

Deleting an image

To delete an image, right-click the image node in the Media folder and select Delete.

Note: We recommend you Unpublish or Archive the image rather than delete it, as it can be re-published again at a later date. Deleting an image will move it to the Recycle Bin and it will be permanently deleted when the Recycle Bin is emptied.

Note that items in the Recycle Bin are automatically deleted once they have been in the bin longer than 30 days.

Generally, unpublished and/or archived images do not appear in the frontend. However, privileged member groups (Editors & Admins) can be given access to these unpublished/archived images without logging into the backend.

When given access, these member groups will see an additional image status drop-down list on the frontend.

 
The list allows images to be filtered by Published, Unpublihsed or Archived images.

Please note that you should not give all member groups access to these images, as they are still downloadable.
 

Enable access to “Unpublished” and “Archived” images

To enable Unpublished and Archived image access:

1. Go to the “Content” section.
2. Locate the “Repositories” node.
3. Select Member Group.
4. Select the “Settings” tab.
5. Check the “Can View Unpublished/Archived Assets” checkbox
6. Click Save and publish.

 
Members from that member group will now be able to view unpublished and archived images in the frontend via the drop-down list.