Where a file is used

Every file in your library shows how many manual sections use it. Use it to find files nothing needs, and to see what a delete will empty before you confirm it.

WhereDashboard, Assets, on any file

What counts as used

A file counts as used when it appears in a section of a manual in the same brand. It does not matter which block put it there: an image block, a logo or a download all count.

• One section counts once, even if the file appears in it twice.
• Three sections count as three.
• Drafts count. A manual does not have to be published for its files to count.
• Only this brand counts. Files belong to one brand, and only that brand's manuals are read.

Where you see it

A file nothing uses says so in its panel: This file is not referenced in any manual. Safe to delete if it is not linked from somewhere else.

What the count leaves out

A file can be in use and still be badged Unused. The count reads section content only, so these do not raise it:

• A manual's own pictures: the favicon, the social image and the header image.
• The brand mark used in a white label dashboard.
• Pictures chosen in the manual settings rather than inside a block.
• Stored versions in the history.
• Anything outside Stylehub, such as a file address you copied into a deck, a website or an email.

A delete still clears all of those. They are only left out of the badge.

Listing what nothing uses

WhereDashboard, Assets, the first select in the toolbar

The select labeled Used in appears as soon as the brand has one manual. It offers:

Anything other than All files searches the whole library, not the folder you are in. It combines with the category, kind and search controls beside it, so "unused PDFs in the press folder" is one list.

Deleting a file

Three controls delete files: the button in the file panel, the selection bar when several are picked, and the Delete key on a selection. All three say the same thing about the same deletion.

• A file nothing uses is one click: Move to the trash.
• A file in use, or any file on a plan with no trash, opens Delete file and asks first, listing the manuals about to lose it. What each plan includes says which plans have a trash.

One file, in use, on a plan with a trash

It is in use in a brand manual. Those pages lose it now. Restoring from the trash puts the file back in the library, not back on the pages. This file will move to the trash and can be restored for 30 days. After that it is deleted permanently.

The same file on a plan without one

It is in use in a brand manual. Those pages lose it now. This file will be deleted permanently. This cannot be undone.

A file nothing is using

This file will move to the trash and can be restored for 30 days. After that it is deleted permanently.

A file you may not delete says so where the button would be: This file is in a folder that only a higher role may delete from.

What a delete leaves on the page

The file comes off your published pages at the moment you delete it, on every plan. The block it was in stays where it is, empty, so you can put a new picture into it.

There are 7 places a delete clears:

• The icon in the browser tab.
• The card a link preview shows.
• The image across the top of the page.
• The brand mark shown in a white label dashboard.
• Every block of every section of every manual.
• The stored versions in the history.
• Pictures chosen in the manual settings.

Restoring puts it back in the library, not on the page

Restoring from the trash returns the file with its name, folder, categories and tags. The blocks that were showing it stay empty, and you point them at it again.

A deleted file is kept for 30 days on a plan that has a trash, whatever plan the brand moves to afterwards. A plan without a trash deletes permanently on the spot. See The trash, storage and the quota.

Missing pictures are hidden, not broken

If a page still points at a file that is no longer there, the picture is left out when the page is drawn rather than shown as a broken image. The block and its caption stay. This applies to the public page, the print view, the PDF, the editor preview, the history preview and the API.

Who can see this and who can delete

A folder can demand a higher role than the brand does, and a folder inside another answers to the stricter of the two. Files in a folder you may not view are not listed at all, and are counted in the hidden by folder rules part of the line above the library. See Custom roles and folder access, Folders and categories and Roles.

Common questions

Where to go next

• The trash, storage and the quota for how long a deleted file is kept and what it still costs.
• Renaming, cropping and replacing for replacing a file everywhere at once instead of deleting it.
• Uploading files and Folders and categories for keeping a library tidy.
• Completeness and governance for which parts of a manual are still empty.