How to archive content that's no longer in active use — removing it from Explore and assignment paths while preserving its history.
Archive content when it's no longer relevant but you want to preserve completion records and historical data. Archived content disappears from Explore and can't be newly assigned, but learners who already completed it keep their completion history intact, and admins can still pull historical reports.
Reach for archive instead of delete whenever the content has been actively used — completion records have value beyond the content itself, and deletion makes those records harder to reconstruct.
How to Archive Content
1. Open the Content area. From the left-hand navigation, click Create > Content.
2. Find the content and open its options menu. Browse or search to find the content. Click the three-dot menu next to it, or use the toggle to select it for bulk actions.
3. Click Archive. Confirm the archive action. The content is now removed from Explore and from active assignment paths.
What Archiving Does
Removes from Explore. Learners can no longer browse or search to find the content.
Stops new assignments. The content can't be added to new Direct Assignments, Automations, or Learning Tracks. Existing assignments that pointed at it remain in place, but the content won't fire for new audiences.
Preserves completion history. Learners who completed the content before archiving keep their completion records. Historical reports still surface this data.
Allows future restoration. Archived content isn't deleted. You can unarchive (restore) at any time to make the content active again.
Configuration Pitfalls
Archiving Content That's Still in Active Learning Tracks. If the content is part of a Track that learners are working through, archiving can disrupt their progress. Remove the content from active Tracks before archiving, or wait for cohort completion.
Deleting When You Should Archive. Permanent deletion removes the content and severs its relationship to completion records. For anything actively used, archive instead — you can always delete later, but you can't undelete.
Archiving Without Communication. If learners or managers depend on the content being available, archiving without notice generates "where did X go" tickets. Coordinate with stakeholders before archiving widely-used content.
Where This Fits
You're here because you're retiring content that's no longer in active use. For broader content lifecycle decisions, see Content Strategy: Designing Learning Assets That Scale.
See Also
- Content Strategy: Designing Learning Assets That Scale — the strategic anchor.
- Duplicate Content — reuse content instead of retiring it.
- Segmentation For Content — limit visibility without archiving entirely.
Archive preserves history; delete severs it. For anything that's been actively used, archive instead.