Deleting an Area

Areas can be removed from the system using the Delete function in Area Setup. Before an area can be deleted, it must meet the deletion requirements described below.

In most systems, Soft Delete is the recommended approach, as it allows administrators to remove areas without first waiting for all historical data to be removed.

Required Permissions

To delete an area, your user account must have the following permissions:

• View Area Configuration
• Edit Area Configuration
• Delete or Disable Areas

Before You Can Delete an Area

An area can only be deleted when all of the following requirements have been met:

• The area is disabled.
• All child areas (sub-areas) have been deleted.
• One of the following is true:
  • Soft Delete is enabled (recommended) – allows areas with historical data to be deleted immediately whilst housekeeping removes the historical data automatically at a later date.
  • All historical data for the area has already been removed – required when Soft Delete is not enabled.

Recommended: SureView recommends enabling Soft Delete. This provides the simplest and safest deletion process, allowing areas to be removed from the user interface immediately whilst historical records are automatically cleaned up by housekeeping.

Disable an Area

Areas must be disabled before they can be deleted.

1. Navigate to Area Setup.
2. Edit the area you want to delete.
3. Select Disable.
4. Select Save.

Delete an Area

Once the area has been disabled and all deletion requirements have been met:

1. Navigate to Area Setup.
2. Edit the area you want to delete.
3. Select Delete.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

The area will be removed from the system.

Why Is the Delete Button Disabled?

If the Delete button is unavailable or cannot be selected, one or more deletion requirements have not been met.

Common reasons include:

• The area is still enabled.
• The area contains one or more sub-areas.
• The area contains historical data and Soft Delete is not enabled.
• Your user account does not have the required permissions.

What Happens When an Area Is Deleted?

When Soft Delete is enabled:

• The area is immediately removed from the user interface.
• Users can no longer access or use the area.
• Historical alarms, events, patrols and other records remain in the database temporarily.
• Housekeeping automatically removes the remaining data after the configured retention period.

For most administrators, the area will appear to have been deleted immediately, with no further action required.

Administrator Notes

The following information is intended for system administrators responsible for system-wide configuration.

Enable Soft Delete

Soft Delete is controlled by the following feature flag in the "Setup: Features" page (accessible via the main Sureview Menu)

Areas > SoftDeleteAreas

Once enabled, administrators can delete areas even when historical alarms, events, patrols or other records still exist.

This is the recommended configuration for most systems.

System Administrator Access

To configure feature flags or housekeeping settings, the user account must have Is System Admin enabled in User Setup.

Soft Delete Retention Period

When an area is soft deleted, any remaining historical data is retained until housekeeping removes it.

The default retention period is 60 days.

This can be configured in:

System Settings → System → Housekeeping → System Area → Soft Delete Area Retention Period (Days)

Permanent Deletion (Advanced)

If Soft Delete is not enabled, an area can only be permanently deleted after all historical data associated with the area has been removed by housekeeping.

This typically requires waiting for alarms, events, patrols, files and other historical records to expire according to the configured retention settings.

Because this process can be time-consuming and offers no practical benefit for most systems, SureView recommends using Soft Delete wherever possible.