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Bulk Deletion

You can mark assets, purchases, computers, licenses and users for bulk deletion in one of the following ways:

  • From the All Assets, All Purchases, All Inventory, All Licenses, or All Users page

  • Using the Business Adapter

note

In the IT Asset Management UI, the maximum number of objects you can delete in bulk is 1,000 using the Delete button. There is no limit to the number of objects that can be deleted in bulk when using the Business Adapter.

Bulk deletion is enabled only for selected customers and cannot be requested. It will be enabled for all customers in a future release.

How deletion works in the UI​

On the All Assets, All Purchases, All Inventory, All Licenses, or All Users page, two delete options exist:

  • Original delete

  • Soft delete (bulk deletion)

Both options are executed by clicking the Delete button. If the number of selected rows meets or exceeds the threshold (50), the system performs a soft delete. If fewer rows are selected, the system performs the original delete.

The original delete is intended for small deletions (for example, 1–2 rows). Soft delete is intended for customers deleting large numbers of records.

Deletion occurs as part of the reconciliation process. At the start of reconciliation, bulk deletion runs first. Records marked for deletion are processed in batches. If bulk deletion cannot finish within the reconciliation window, any remaining records are skipped and processed during the next reconciliation. This ensures reconciliation time is not negatively impacted. Errors during bulk deletion do not affect reconciliation; the process skips bulk deletion and completes normally.

Logs and monitoring​

Bulk deletion details are recorded in the reconciliation log, located at C:\ProgramData\Flexera Software\Compliance\Logging\ComplianceReader.

BulkDeletionData table​

This table contains all records marked for deletion and stores the following information:

  • ObjectTypeID (foreign key referencing BulkDeletionObjectType):

    • 1 = Asset
    • 2 = PurchaseOrderDetail
    • 3 = ComplianceComputer
    • 4 = ComplianceUser
    • 5 = SoftwareLicense

  • ObjectToBeDeletedID: ID of the actual object (for example, AssetID, PurchaseOrderDetailID, or ComplianceComputerID)

  • MarkedBy: User who marked the item for deletion

  • DateAdded: When the object was marked for bulk deletion

  • DateDeleted: When the object was deleted during reconciliation

    • A global setting, BulkDeletionHistoryRetentionPeriod, determines how long records are retained in the BulkDeletionData table. By default, records are retained for 180 days. The FNMPDataMaintenance batch process evaluates the DateDeleted field and deletes any records that exceed the configured retention period.

Bulk deleting in the UI​

To perform bulk deletion:

  1. From the All Assets, All Purchases, All Inventory, All Licenses, or All Users page, select a number of records meeting or exceeding the threshold (default: 50).

  2. Click the Delete button, confirm with OK.

  3. Selected records are added to BulkDeletionData.

After performing these steps, a UI notification displays stating: “The selected assets met or exceeded the soft delete threshold; hence, a soft delete was performed.”

Records selected for bulk deletion remain visible in the UI with the label “Marked for Deletion” until reconciliation deletes them.

Bulk Deleting Using the Business Adapter​

You can also mark records for deletion by using the Business Adapter. To do this, include the IsMarkedForDeletion column in your Asset, Purchase Order, License, or User CSV file. There is no dedicated CSV for computers; instead, use a custom import template to create a custom CSV (note that a custom import template is not limited to computers only).

This column accepts values in the form of TRUE or FALSE, Yes or No, or 1 or 0, and these values are stored in the BulkDeletionData table when marked as TRUE, Yes or 1. The data you want to mark for deletion must already exist in IT Asset Management.

Similar to bulk deletion in the UI, you will still see all records marked for deletion displayed in the interface, appended with the text “Marked for Deletion”. The actual deletion of these records occurs during reconciliation. For more information on how to use the Business Adapter, see Using FlexNet Business Adapters.