Closing or deleting a collection

To stop new ideas, close the collection by setting Access to Closed. People can still see it and read the ideas. To remove a collection and all its ideas for good, delete it from Manage > Overview > Settings.

Close a collection to new ideas

Who can do this: collection managers and Admins.

1. Open the collection and select the Manage tab.
2. Click Overview in the sidebar.
3. In the Collection details card, click the button next to Access.
4. In Who can contribute?, choose Closed and click Select.
5. Click Save in the Unsaved changes bar.

Nobody can submit ideas to a closed collection, Admins included. Contributors see the contribute button greyed out with the message “This collection is closed for new ideas”.

The collection stays visible. People can still read its ideas, and you can keep moving ideas through the steps.

Closing the collection also stops ideas sent by email. See Letting people submit ideas by email.

To open the collection again, set Access back to Everyone with access.

Hide a collection from members

If you also want members to stop seeing the collection, take it off its page:

1. Go to Manage > Share.
2. Clear the Page field.
3. Click Save.

The collection and its ideas stay in Hives. Its managers and Admins can still open it, and people can still open ideas they submitted. If the collection has an active share link, turn that off too. See Choosing who can see a collection.

Delete a collection

Who can do this: Admins, and Managers who are also collection managers of that collection. If you manage a collection but don’t have the Admin or Manager role, ask an Admin to delete it.

1. Open the collection and select the Manage tab.
2. Click Overview in the sidebar, then the Settings tab.
3. In the Danger zone card, click Delete.
4. Confirm in the Delete item? dialog.

Deleting a collection permanently removes it with all its ideas, comments, reactions, answers, steps, questions and AI summaries. This can’t be undone.

Good to know: Before you delete, consider exporting the collection to keep a copy of the ideas and form answers.

Archiving: not available for collections

Collections can’t be archived. To keep an old collection out of the way without deleting it:

• close it, so nobody can contribute;
• take it off its page, so members don’t see it;
• move it into a folder for old campaigns.

Folders can be archived, but archiving a folder only tidies the Folders page. It doesn’t change who can see the collections inside. See Moving, archiving and deleting folders.

Duplicating: not available for collections

There is no way to copy a collection. To reuse the same steps and questions, ask an Admin to set them up as a workflow. You can then create a new collection and apply that workflow to it. See What is a workflow? and How to create a collection.

Common questions

Can I move a collection to another hive? No. A collection always stays in the hive where it was created.

Can I get a deleted collection back? No. Deleting is permanent.

What happens to a collection when its page is deleted? The collection isn’t deleted. It is simply no longer on a page, so only its managers and Admins can see it until you choose a new page.