iManage Trash: How to Recover or Permanently Delete Documents

How Trash Works in iManage Work

When a document or folder is deleted in iManage Work, it isn’t immediately gone. It moves to Trash, where it stays recoverable for a retention period your firm’s administrator sets (commonly 30 days, though this varies by firm). Only after that window closes — or if an admin empties Trash manually — is the item permanently removed.

How to Restore a Document from Trash

From iManage Work 10, open Trash from the left-hand navigation. Locate the item, select it, and choose Restore. The document returns to its original workspace and folder with its version history intact. If you can’t find an item in your own Trash view, it may have been deleted by someone else or already purged — your administrator can check further back using admin-level tools.

Who Can See and Restore What

By default, users can see and restore items they deleted themselves. Firm administrators typically have broader visibility into Trash across workspaces, which matters when a document was deleted by someone who’s since left the firm, or when a client matter needs an item recovered urgently.

Permanently Deleting Items

Emptying Trash, or deleting an item directly from Trash, removes it for good — there’s no further recovery step after that. Firms with strict document retention or litigation hold obligations should have a clear policy on who is authorized to permanently delete anything, and when.

Cleaning Up Trash in Bulk

Trash left unmanaged across a large firm adds up, and manually reviewing it item by item doesn’t scale. MacroAgility’s Sync Tools includes automated trash cleanup alongside its other bulk admin utilities, so administrators can enforce a retention policy firm-wide instead of relying on individual users to manage their own Trash.

Need Help With iManage Administration?

If your firm is dealing with Trash sprawl, unclear retention policies, or just wants iManage administration handled by people who do it every day, MacroAgility’s iManage support team can help.