Overview

Azure Storage Accounts has a "blob soft delete" feature that can help protect against accidental folder and file deletion when CentreStack is using Azure blob containers for backend storage and/or Team Folders. This article will demonstrate the Soft Delete feature using screenshots from a CentreStack deployment in Azure.

Details

Soft delete can be enabled when the storage account is created via the Advanced tab of the Storage Account creation wizard:

Soft delete may also be modified in the settings of the storage container after it is created:

In this example a folder Test\AT&T was deleted in the CentreStack web portal from the Test team folder. In the Azure Storage explorer viewing the Test\AT&T shows that the "Install AWS CloudWatch agent.docx..." file has a CentreStack "file delete marker", namely the "@d" immediately following the first part of the file name. 

Navigating into the blob container itself in Azure shows a similar view from within the Test\AT&T folder:

This view is from with the parent Test folder, with the "_$$folder$$" being the CentreStack "folder delete marker" for the folder:

If the Pending Purge Folders report is viewed moments after the folder is deleted, nothing is displayed (yet):

When the file and folder is purged by CentreStack (after the retention policy expires the deleted file), then the Azure Storage Explorer shows the deleted files as seen below when viewing the Test\AT&T folder:

When viewing the parent Test folder, the Azure Storage Explorer shows:

Notice in the screenshot above that Azure's soft delete has now marked the CentreStack delete marker file AT&T_$$folder$$" as deleted. The view of the same folder from the blob container itself shows similar view but with a Status column that shows the AT&T_$$folder$$" as deleted:

Drilling down into the AT&T folder also shows its files as deleted:

To restore ("undelete") the files, select each deleted file, then click the Undelete button:

You will also need to undelete the "deleted folder" marker file that ends in "_$$folder$$":

 After undeleting in the Azure portal, the files will still be marked for deletion in CentreStack. Use the CentreStack file browser web portal to undelete the files and folders.