Getting Started with Storage Helper

Storage Helper Setup

Storage Helper can be configured to run in a conservative mode, or a maximum savings mode.

Conservative mode will delete your data at a low risk level of not being able to recover data that was lost to accidental deletion or a change in a business requirement that affects the criteria of data that needs to be kept.

Maximize storage savings mode will increase potential Data Storage savings.

Assign the Storage Helper Permission Set to all Admin Users that should have access.
Click the gear icon for Storage Helper Settings.
Set the Maximum Number of Records to Recycle.
1. Conservative Mode: The Maximum Number of Records to Recycle is defaulted to 20,000 because this is the number of records that can be restored from the Recycle Bin at any time in most orgs. Please note that Storage
  Helper Free Edition is limited to deleting a total of 20,000 records per month across all jobs. To increase the number of records that can be deleted, please upgrade to Storage Helper Premium Edition which deletes
  an unlimited number of records.
  1. The recycle bin allows for one click restoration capability in case of accidental record deletion, whether it is a Storage Helper Job or human error. For your convenience, Storage Helper
    will back up all of the records from a Storage Recycle Job, however, you must have selected a backup option at Storage Recycle Job level (available for selection after creating your Storage Recycle Job).
    For additional peace of mind, we HIGHLY recommend enabling Storage Helper backups in addition to backing up all of your Salesforce data through weekly exports or other methods.
    Please see the Storage Helper Backups section for more details.
    1. If there are more than 20,000 records to be deleted and the Maximum Number of Records to be Recycled setting is set to 20,000 or less, multiple jobs will need to be run manually in order to work
      through all of the records.
2. Maximize storage savings mode.
  1. If you are using the backup options, the data can be recovered from the backup file rather than the recycle bin. Therefore, the Maximum Number of Records to Recycle setting can be increased up to a maximum
    of 50,000, otherwise clear out the setting so that there is not a limit on the number of records. Please note that if not all of the Storage Recycle Jobs have backup selections and this setting is greater
    than 20,000, there is a risk of data loss for the settings that do not have backup selections.
Enter the Alert Threshold Percent representing the Data Storage utilization level at which you would like to receive notification.
Enter the email address(es) to send the notification to.
Select “Force Record Preview for New Recycle Jobs” if you would like to automatically show a preview of the records that Storage Helper will delete in order to determine the accuracy of the filter criteria before
activating the Storage Recycle Job.
If you have purchased storage at a discounted rate, select the Salesforce Data Storage is Purchased at a Discount flag and then enter your
cost per 500MB/YR for accurate savings calculation.
Select “Auto Delete Old Storage Helper Backups” if you would like Storage Helper to delete old backups after a period of time that you define. Once selected, there will be a popup to enter the number of months to keep the backups.
Select “Track Monthly Data and File Storage” if you would like a monthly comparison of data and file storage usage.
Select “Track Monthly Object Storage Usage” if you would like visibility into which objects are consuming the most data storage on a monthly basis.
Select Storage Helper Run Mode.
1. You may either select the method by which you would like Storage Helper to run now by clicking the Change Run Mode button, or return to this step after creating your Storage Recycle Job(s).
2. From the Gear Icon, click the Change Run Mode button.
3. In the Run Mode popup select how you would like Storage Helper to process Storage Recycle Jobs.
  1. Manual Run Only - By selecting this option, Storage Helper will not automatically run.
  2. Run After Salesforce Data Exports - Storage Helper will run the Storage Recycle Job(s) you have activated after each export has completed.
  3. Run on a Defined Schedule - Allows you to schedule when you would like Storage Helper to run.
4. If you do choose an automated option, you can still manually run at any time by selecting the Run button in the upper right corner of the All Storage Recycle Jobs page.
5. Click Save.
Next to the Gear icon, you will also find an FAQ button for in app answers to FAQs.

Using Storage Helper

Create Storage Recycle Jobs to delete data that you no longer need.

Click the New Storage Recycle Job button in the upper right hand corner of the Storage Recycle Jobs page.
Creating the Storage Recycle Job

Enter the job name.
Select the object to clean up.
Add any desired notes.
Optionally select to Hard Delete Records. By selecting this checkbox, records will not be sent to the recycle bin.
Select child objects to be deleted along with the parent. If they are not selected, they could block the parent record from being deleted.

Create desired filter criteria to ensure the correct records are deleted. You will need to select the field to filter on, choose the filter logic, and select the condition that should be met.
Select the Storage Helper Backup Mode. If configured to do so, Storage Helper will back up just records that are to be deleted into a .csv file. Please note that this does not back up all of your data,
only the records deleted by Storage Helper. Although it is not required, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to run Storage Helper backups as well as using Salesforce data export backups. Storage Helper backup
functionality should only be disabled in certain very specific cases. See our section, Export Backup Data from Salesforce, to learn more about backing up your data.

If you delete a Storage Recycle Job, all of the backup files for that setting will be deleted as well. You would need to download the files and save them elsewhere before deleting the job.
Deleting a Storage Recycle Job will also delete the filter that was associated to it.
Off will not backup any records during Storage Recycle Job run. This setting should not be used in specific cases and only when your existing backup solution will enable you to quickly
restore any records that were mistakenly deleted due to inaccurate filter criteria.
Backup All Fields will backup up all fields on the records that are deleted.*Conservative Mode
Select Fields to Backup will allow you to select certain fields to backup. *Maximize Storage Savings Mode
Note: A maximum of 300 fields will be queried.

Select “Enable Search for Archived Records” if you would like to be able to search and restore records from the backup file.
Select whether you would like to keep the setting inactive until you preview the records or activate. We recommend keeping any new Storage Recycle Jobs
inactive until filter criteria are fully defined and matching records have been previewed.

Administering Storage Helper Jobs

In the Detail tab to the right, you can preview records waiting to be deleted by a Storage Recycle Job, edit the Storage Recycle Job, activate the job or delete the job.
In the Criterion Tab to the right, you can review your criteria and edit/delete, add new criteria, or change your Filter Logic.
In the Backup Tab to the right, you can select your backup mode and view your backup files
after running the Storage Recycle Job by using the View Backup Files tab.

Storage Helper Archive Search
1. Enter the full or partial name of a record.
2. Select “Restore Record” next to the Archived Record Name to restore the record to Salesforce.
3. Select “Download Backup” to download a file of that record.
Storage Usage Analytics

With “Track Monthly Data and File Storage” and/or “Track Monthly Object Storage Usage” selected in Storage Helper Settings, the Storage Usage Analytics tab will display a
dashboard of Monthly Data and File Storage Comparisons and the Top Ten Storage Consumers.
Objects with high usage will display on the Storage Usage Analytics page. This section will display possible opportunities where records could be deleted to help your organization save money on storage.

Export Backup Data from Salesforce

You can learn more about backing up data in our blog:
How To Maximize Salesforce Data Storage In Your Org
You can manually export data, however, it is best practice to backup your data on a scheduled basis. There are different options for data backup outlined in the blog article.
One option is to use Salesforce Data Export.

Best Practices

Backup your data. The Storage Helper backups option will backup all records that are to be deleted to a .csv file. We do also recommend regular Salesforce data backups for all of the data in your org.
Use the alert threshold notifications so that you can run Storage Helper jobs to mass delete data before going over the Salesforce Data Storage Limit.
Use Storage Usage Analytics to identify the largest storage consumers in your org and identify monthly data usage trends.
Ensure that “Force Record Preview for New Storage Recycle Jobs” is selected in Storage Helper Settings. With this selected, a preview of the records to be deleted will display before activation so that
filter criteria can be verified before the job is run.
Collaborate with all stakeholders to define what data is necessary to keep and when data is considered to be no longer necessary and can be deleted.
Leave “Hard Delete” unchecked so that records can be recovered from the recycle bin if necessary.

Getting Started with Storage Helper

Install Storage Helper from the AppExchange:

Post-Install Instructions

Using Storage Helper

Export Backup Data from Salesforce

Best Practices

Storage Helper Screen Shots: