Its likely that numerous Target Groups will be created in your account — in addition to those that the system automatically creates. Over time, this could result in there being "old" and "outdated" Target Groups that you no longer use or need.

You can minimize the number of unwanted Target Groups by periodically deleting those that you no longer use.

TIP: Higher Logic recommends that, as a best practice, you adopt a regular (perhaps monthly or quarterly) maintenance routine that includes some necessary "housekeeping" in your account.

This article guides you through how to locate and delete unused Target Groups in order to decrease Target Group "clutter." Having a more streamlined collection of Target Groups:

• makes it easier to find and work with your active Target Groups and
• ensures that your organization doesn't accidentally use an outdated Target Group.

NOTE: This article also describes how to undelete a Target Group, should one be accidentally deleted.

Target Groups data

When talking about deleting Target Groups, it's important to remember that a Target Group is really a subset of database entities that share a commonality, and which have been grouped for convenience. Therefore:

• Target Groups only compile Contact information, they do not store it directly.
• If you delete a Target Group, all of the associated Contact information is preserved in the Contacts' records.

Access your Target Groups

To perform the tasks discussed in this article, navigate to the Groups list page:

1. Access the Admin interface.
2. Navigate to Contacts > Groups.

The Target Groups list page defaults to the Main Folder; the list is sorted alphabetically on the Target Group Name column. You can:

• Click any column header to sort on that column; click again to reverse the sort order.
• Click the folder dropdown to select a folder to display its Target Groups or select All Folders to display all Target Groups.

Set up the list

There are two columns you can add that might help you more quickly determine whether there are Target Groups that can/should be deleted.

1. Click Columns above the list.
2. On the selector popup:

• In the right panel, click the plus sign (+) to the right of Folder Name and Last Used Date to move them to the left panel; this adds them to the Target Groups list.
• Optionally, in the left panel, click-and-drag a column name up/down to set its position in the Target Groups list.
• Click Ok.

3. On the Target Groups list, click-and-drag a column divider left/right to resize the column.

By reviewing which folders house which Target Groups and when Target Groups were last used, you might be able to more quickly determine whether a Target Group is still needed.

Delete a Target Group

When deleting one or more Target Groups, keep in mind that you cannot delete:

• Target Groups that are currently in use.
• Some Target Group types, such as General and Marketing Compound.

To delete Target Groups:

1. Check the boxes for one or more Target Groups.
2. Click Delete.

3. At the "delete" confirmation, click OK.
4. Above the list, check the Show Deleted box and then review the list to verify that the Target Group name now displays in red text.

Validation

When deleting multiple Target Groups, those:

• that pass validation are immediately deleted.
• with validation issues are listed in a popup, along with the reason, and they are not deleted.

Undelete a Target Group

NOTE: You cannot use multi-select to undelete Target Groups; they have to be undeleted individually.

To undelete a Target Group:

1. Check the Show Deleted checkbox. All deleted Target Groups appear in red text in the list.

2. Hover over the menu icon to the left of a Target Group name and select Undelete.

3. At the "undelete" confirmation, click OK.

The list refreshes and the undeleted Target Group is highlighted.

Repeat these steps to undelete additional Target Groups.

Target Group Automatic Cleanup

All accounts have a feature that automatically deletes unused Target Groups based on an Admin-specified threshold.

See Target Group Automatic Cleanup to learn about enabling and configuring this option.