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Clear a Recycle Bin

The ability to have FileCloud place files deleted on S3 Storage into a recycle bin and use the recycle bin functionality is available on FileCloud Server version 18.2 and later.

This action:

  • Is recorded in the Audit log as: "Action performed by ADMIN"
  • CANNOT be undone



As an administrator, you can delete a user's files and folders.

(lightbulb) After you delete files and folders, they are normally placed in the user's Recycle Bin, which you can also manage. 

  • If you have a policy that stores deleted files, they are saved in the Recycle Bin
  • This means that they can be recovered if deleted by mistake or are needed again at a later time
  • You can also set the Recycle Bin to automatically delete through a policy

  Manage the Recycle Bin Using a Policy

In the Admin portal, go to the Users page, select a user, and click the edit icon. In the User Details dialog box, click Manage Files.

Click Deleted Files to view the contents of the recycle bin:

Manage Files dialog box, Deleted Files button

 Manage Files dialog box, recycle bin


If you are sure the user no longer needs the files in the recycle bin, they can be cleared.

Confirm deletion box

To clear a user's recycle bin:

  1. Follow the steps above in Go the the recycle bin to open the recycle bin.
  2. Click the Clear all Deleted Files icon Clear All Deleted Files icon.
  3. On the Confirm dialog box, click OK.

(lightbulb) If you have a folder with a large number of files, more than 16 MB, and you delete this folder, it is moved to recycle bin.

  • When you try to delete the folder or empty recycle bin, the request will fail
  • A new utility has been added to help an administrator empty the recycle bin when it contains a large folder that won't delete
  • See the next topic, Run a tool to clear a recycle bin larger than 16 MB for more information

If you have a folder with a large number of files, more than 16 MB, and you delete this folder, it is moved to recycle bin.

  • When you try to delete the folder or empty recycle bin, the request will fail

A new utility has been added to help an administrator empty the recycle bin when it contains a large folder that won't delete.

  • The utility is at WWWROOT/fileutils/rmutil.php
  • (warning) This tool can be used not only for emptying recycle bin, but also any folder path. Please use it with caution.
  • Usage: 
          [Optional] -h <host> Site host name or 'default' for default site. If not specified, command uses default site.
          [Required] -u user account whose files are being removed from the recycle bin
          [Required] -p path to the user's recycle bin which you want to delete
          [Optional] -r 1  remove files in the destination (For a test run, do not specify this option.)
          [Optional] --useaggregation Use this to prevent orphaned files from remaining if delete operation only partially finishes. Instead of relying on parent/child relationships, this causes the command to  reconstruct the path of each file and folder after the initial delete operation, enabling it to identify and delete orphans.

To run the utility:

  1. Open a command line prompt.

  2. Use the following code to navigate to the directory containing the utility

cd C:\xampp\htdocs\resources\tools\fileutils

3.  Use the following command to delete files and folders under the path /user1/recyclebin/ (replace the sample parameters with your own data)

C:\xampp\php\php.exe rmutil.php -h default -u jdoe -p /jdoe/recyclebin/ -r 1


To run the utility with the option to delete orphaned files:

C:\xampp\php\php.exe rmutil.php -u jdoe -p /jdoe/recyclebin -r 1 --useaggregation