Disabling Delete Actions at the Account Level

Overview
Account owners can now enable a global setting that removes the ability to delete items across the entire Labguru account. This feature helps organizations meet compliance requirements where unrestricted deletion by all users is prohibited.

What Gets Disabled

When this setting is enabled, users cannot delete the following:

ELN Items: Folders, Experiments, Protocols, Archived Protocols, SOPs, Recipes, Datasets, Reports, Documents, Papers, Attachments, Images

Inventory Items:

Collection items (antibodies, plasmids, cell lines, etc.), Stocks, Boxes, Plates, Storage locations, Equipment

System Items: Tags, Requests, Request Templates

How to Enable This Setting

1. Navigate to Account Settings → General tab (Only visible to Account Owners)
2. Check the "Block Deletion" option
3. Click Save

Once enabled:

Delete buttons will not appear anywhere in the UI (for the mentioned pages)
API DELETE requests will return a 403 Forbidden error with the message: "Delete actions are disabled at the account level. Contact your account owner for details."

All deletion attempts are still logged in the audit trail

Important Notes

✓ Archiving is still allowed – users can archive items normally  
✓ Other permissions are unaffected – edit, assign, share, export, and convert actions work as usual  
✓ This setting overrides all individual permissions – even admins cannot delete when this is enabled  
✓ Only Account Owners can change this setting – not available to other admin roles

Troubleshooting

Q: I'm an admin but can't see the setting  
A: Only the Account Owner (PI role) can access this setting

Q: Can items be recovered if deleted before enabling this?  
A: Contact support for recovery options; this setting does not restore previously deleted items

Q: What if I need to delete something urgently?  
A: The Account Owner must temporarily disable the setting, then re-enable it after the deletion