The Recycle Bin in Salesforce is a powerful data recovery feature that serves as a safety net for accidentally deleted records. When users delete records in Salesforce, they are not permanently removed but instead moved to the Recycle Bin, where they remain for 15 days before being permanently dele…The Recycle Bin in Salesforce is a powerful data recovery feature that serves as a safety net for accidentally deleted records. When users delete records in Salesforce, they are not permanently removed but instead moved to the Recycle Bin, where they remain for 15 days before being permanently deleted.
As a Platform Administrator, understanding the Recycle Bin is essential for effective data management. Each user has access to their own personal Recycle Bin, which displays records they have deleted. Additionally, administrators have access to the Org Recycle Bin, which shows all deleted records across the entire organization, providing comprehensive oversight of data deletion activities.
The Recycle Bin has storage limits based on your organization's data storage allocation. Salesforce allows approximately 25 times your organization's Megabyte (MB) storage limit, with a minimum of 5,000 records. Once this limit is reached, older records are automatically purged to make room for newly deleted items.
Restoring records from the Recycle Bin is straightforward. Users can select individual records or multiple records and click the Undelete button. When a parent record is restored, related child records that were deleted through cascade deletion are also restored automatically, maintaining data integrity.
Key considerations for administrators include monitoring the Recycle Bin regularly, educating users about the 15-day retention period, and understanding that certain deletions bypass the Recycle Bin entirely, such as records deleted through Data Loader with hard delete enabled or records purged through the API.
Administrators should also note that searching within the Recycle Bin is limited to exact matches, and only certain fields are searchable. For compliance and audit purposes, tracking deletion activities through the Setup Audit Trail can complement Recycle Bin functionality. Proper management of the Recycle Bin ensures data can be recovered when needed while maintaining organizational data hygiene and storage optimization.
Recycle Bin in Salesforce: A Complete Guide for Administrators
Introduction
The Recycle Bin is a critical data recovery feature in Salesforce that every administrator must understand thoroughly. It serves as a safety net for accidentally deleted records and is a frequently tested topic on the Salesforce Administrator certification exam.
What is the Recycle Bin?
The Recycle Bin is a temporary storage location for deleted records in Salesforce. When users delete records, those records are not permanently removed but instead moved to the Recycle Bin, where they can be restored if needed.
Salesforce provides two types of Recycle Bins:
1. Personal Recycle Bin - Contains records deleted by the individual user. Each user can access their own deleted records here.
2. Org Recycle Bin (All Recycle Bin) - Contains all deleted records across the entire organization. Only users with the appropriate permissions can access this bin.
Why is the Recycle Bin Important?
• Data Recovery: Allows restoration of accidentally deleted records • Compliance: Provides a buffer period before permanent data deletion • User Confidence: Users can delete records knowing they have a recovery option • Administrative Control: Admins can manage and restore records organization-wide
How Does the Recycle Bin Work?
Retention Period: Records remain in the Recycle Bin for 15 days. After this period, records are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered through standard Salesforce features.
Storage Limits: The Recycle Bin can hold records up to 25 times your storage limit. For example, if your org has 1 GB of storage, your Recycle Bin can hold up to 25 GB worth of deleted records.
Restoration Process: • Records can be undeleted and restored to their original state • Related records may also be restored depending on the relationship type • Master-detail child records are restored when the parent is restored
Permanent Deletion: • Users can empty their Personal Recycle Bin • Administrators can empty the Org Recycle Bin • Once emptied, records cannot be recovered through Salesforce
Key Features and Behaviors
• Deleted records maintain their record IDs when restored • Lookup relationships are preserved if the related record still exists • Child records in master-detail relationships are deleted with the parent • Attachments and notes are deleted with their parent records • Workflow rules and triggers do not fire upon restoration
Accessing the Recycle Bin
Users can access the Recycle Bin from: • The App Launcher by searching for Recycle Bin • The sidebar in Salesforce Classic • Setup menu for administrators
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Recycle Bin
Remember These Key Numbers: • 15 days - retention period for deleted records • 25x storage - maximum Recycle Bin capacity relative to org storage
Common Exam Scenarios:
1. Data Recovery Questions: Know that records can be restored within 15 days and will retain their original record IDs.
2. Permission Questions: Understand that users can restore their own deleted records, while admins can restore any deleted record from the Org Recycle Bin.
3. Master-Detail Relationship Questions: When a parent record is deleted, child records are also deleted. When restored, the child records are also restored.
4. Lookup Relationship Questions: Deleting a parent record in a lookup relationship does not delete the child records.
Watch Out For:
• Questions about permanent deletion - once the Recycle Bin is emptied or 15 days pass, standard recovery is not possible • Questions mixing up Personal and Org Recycle Bin capabilities • Scenarios involving cascading deletes with different relationship types
Best Practice for Exam:
When you see a question about deleted records, first identify: • How long ago was the record deleted? • What type of relationship exists with other records? • Who is trying to restore the record and what permissions do they have?
These factors will help you select the correct answer on exam questions related to the Recycle Bin functionality.