Restore deleted work

Restore as soon as you know the deletion was a mistake

Restoring from Trash is the safest way to recover deleted work before it is permanently removed. Use it for accidentally deleted canvases, projects, dashboards, OKR sessions, and files. The sooner you restore, the less likely you are to run into retention, parent-deletion, or access complications.

Restore is different from Delete forever. Restore brings recoverable work back into use. Delete forever removes the normal recovery path. If you are unsure, restore first and decide later from the normal work surface.

For supported resources and the basic recovery model, see How Trash works.

Before you restore

Confirm that you are in the correct workspace. Trash is workspace-specific, and many users belong to more than one ALLO workspace.

Check the item title, type, deletion time, owner, and location if those details are available. Projects, canvases, and files can have similar names, and restoring the wrong item can create confusion for the team.

Make sure you understand what the item is restoring into. A file usually restores to a canvas or other work context. A canvas may restore into a project or workspace area. A project may restore as a project container. If the parent work was also deleted or permanently removed, restoration can be limited.

Restore a deleted item

Open Trash and choose the relevant resource tab, such as canvases, projects, dashboards, OKR sessions, or files. Use search or load more if the list is long. Select the item and choose Restore when the action is available.

After the restore action completes, open the normal location for that item and confirm it is back. For canvases, check All canvases or the project it belonged to. For projects, check the project list. For files, open the containing canvas or Files. For dashboards, check Dashboards.

If the restored item does not appear immediately, refresh the normal surface. Large or complex restores can take a moment to show everywhere.

Who can restore

Restore permissions can be broader than permanent deletion permissions, but they are still controlled by your role and the work you can access. You may be able to restore work you own or can manage, while a workspace admin may be needed for other items.

If the Restore action is missing, you may not have permission, the item may no longer be inside the recovery window, the item may already have been permanently deleted, or the parent context may no longer support restore.

Ask an owner or workspace admin to help if the item is business-critical. Include the item title, resource type, deletion date if known, and the workspace name. For role details, see Members, guests, and external collaborators.

Restore canvases

Restoring a canvas should bring the canvas back so it can be opened again if you have access. If the canvas belonged to a project, confirm whether it returns to that project. If the project was also deleted, restore the project first when possible.

After restore, check sharing and permissions. A restored canvas may still follow the access it had before deletion, but role changes that happened while it was deleted can affect who can open it.

If the canvas had files, comments, or project links, inspect the canvas after restore to confirm the pieces the team needs are present.

Restore projects

Restoring a project can bring back the project container and its recoverable project-level data. After restoration, open the project and review views, canvases, tags, filters, calendar planning, and access. For project basics, see Understand projects.

If some canvases or files still look missing after the project restore, check their own Trash tabs. A project restore does not guarantee that every separately deleted child item is restored automatically in every situation.

If you restored the wrong project, do not immediately delete it again without checking with the owner. Someone else may have already started using the restored work.

Restore files

A file in Trash usually comes from a canvas or work context. Restoring it puts the file back where ALLO can use it, assuming the parent work still exists and you have permission.

If the parent canvas was permanently deleted, the file may not be restorable. If the parent canvas was only deleted, restore the canvas first or ask an admin to help with the correct order.

After restoring a file, open the containing canvas and confirm that preview or download works. If the file appears but actions are unavailable, see Unavailable and retention-locked files.

Restore dashboards and OKR sessions

Dashboards and OKR sessions can have their own ownership and sharing expectations. Restore the item from the correct tab, then open the normal area and confirm that widgets, connected resources, goals, or session details still make sense.

For dashboards, see Archive and restore dashboards. For OKR permission issues, see Troubleshoot OKR permissions.

If restore fails

Refresh Trash and check whether the item is still listed. If it disappeared, it may have been restored by someone else or permanently removed by another action. Check the normal location before retrying.

If the action fails with a permission message, ask an owner or admin to restore it. If it fails because the item is no longer available, check the retention timing and whether the item was permanently deleted.

If restore succeeds but the item is still hard to find, use search and the normal resource surfaces. Restored work may return under a current name, project, or location that differs from what you expected.

After restore

Tell collaborators that the item is back if they were blocked. Review sharing before sending links, especially if the work was deleted during cleanup or offboarding. For sensitive work, confirm that restored access is still appropriate.

If the deletion happened by mistake, consider starring the item, moving it to a clearer project, renaming it, or adding context so the team does not delete it again. See Use Starred, Add an existing canvas to a project, and Use tags and filters.