Quick Guide

1. Open your Main Library.
2. On the left side, click Trash Bin at the bottom of the Folder Tree.
3. The gallery will update to show a list of all items which have been deleted in the last 30 days. Any items deleted before the last 30 days cannot be recovered.
4. You can use the search bar above the gallery or the Filter menu on the right to find the item you wish to restore.
5. When you have found your item, click the -icon in the Actions column.
6. Your content will now be restored to its original folder and album path. If this path is not available, any restored assets will be moved to the Unassigned album.

Step-by-step

Find deleted content

When assets, albums or folders are deleted from the Main Library, they are not immediately removed from your Canto environment. Instead, deleted content is first relocated to the Trash Bin, where it will be held for 30 days before it is automatically, and permanently, removed.

When you open the Trash Bin, the gallery will display all of your currently deleted content. You can identify folders by the -icon, albums by the -icon, and assets by their thumbnail.

If you do not immediately see the item you are looking for, be sure to check the Size column. Any item that was part of a folder or album will maintain its position within the folder or album, even after being deleted. The number shown in the Size column indicates how many items are inside a deleted folder or album. This does not account for nested folder structures, and only represents the count of items directly located within the displayed item. For example, a folder containing two albums will display a '2' in the size column, regardless of the number of assets within each album. However, the accurate number of assets in each album will be shown once the folder is opened and the albums are listed.

You can explore the content of a folder or album by clicking on it. When you do so, the path above the list of deleted content will update to display your current location

If you have a lengthy list of deleted content, you can use the search bar above the gallery to search for a specific item. You can also use the Filter menu on the right to create a customized view of the Trash Bin contents.

Restore deleted content

Once you have found the content you were looking for, you have multiple options to restore it.

To recover a single item, click the -icon in the Actions column on the right side of the gallery.

If you are using the Thumbnail or Masonry Grid view, hover your cursor over the thumbnail of your chosen item to reveal the -icon.

To recover multiple items, hover your cursor over any of the items to reveal a blue circle ① to the left of the item's name. Click the circle to select the item - it will change to include a checkmark ② - and repeat for any other items you wish to add to your selection. Canto automatically keeps track of the number of selected items in the top left ③. You can also select all items in the Trash Bin by clicking the -icon in the top right ④. Click the icon - now a circle with a checkmark - again to deselect all items.

When you are satisfied with your selection, click the -icon in the top right to restore all items you have selected ④.

View the original path of a deleted item

Assets can belong to multiple albums at once - see the article Add Assets to Albums for more information - which can lead to accidental deletions, for example if the asset was assigned to an inappropriate album, or if one of the albums has a workflow including the deletion of assets.

Since any restored asset is automatically returned to all of its original locations, you may want to review the different paths it was part of before restoring it.

To check the paths of an asset, click the corresponding -icon in the Actions column.

This will open a new overlay with a representation of your Main Library structure. You can open and close folders by clicking on them. Albums that contained the asset before it was deleted will be identified with a checkmark ⑥, while Folders containing at least one album the asset was part of are marked with a gray dot ⑦.

Items without original path

An asset without an original path will always be restored to the Unassigned album. If the album it was part of is restored later on, the asset will automatically move out of the Unassigned album and back to the original album. This will happen, even if the folder that contained the album is not restored. If only the original folder, but not the original album, is restored, the asset will remain in the Unassigned album.

An album or folder without its original path will always be restored to the top level of the Main Library.  If the folder they were originally part of is restored, the album or folder will not automatically return and must instead be re-assigned manually.

Permanently delete content

Items in the Trash Bin are typically held for a period of 30 days before being permanently deleted. However, you have the option to immediately remove any pending content by clicking the -icon in the Actions column.

If you are using the Thumbnail or Masonry Grid view, you can find the icon by hovering your cursor over the thumbnail of the item you wish to delete.

If you want to action multiple items at the same time, follow the steps outlined under Restore deleted content - To recover multiple items. Once you have selected the desired items, click on the -icon in the top right ④.