figshare help

How to edit or delete your item

Please note that you can only delete items that are private.

If you need to delete a public item, this will need to be done by us or your institutional administrator, please see I’ve accidentally set my data to public, what should I do?


Public items


To edit a public item head to My data, click anywhere on the item's information other than the item title. This will open a new tab. Clicking the title will open the public view of the item.

Screenshot of the my data section in a Figshare account
Two published items in 'My Data'. The first item has been clicked resulting in a blue border and a new tab opened to the metadata entry form.


As the item is published, changes to the metadata field or the file itself will trigger a new version once you click 'Publish', but the DOI remains the same. If you wish to change the file/s, you will first have to delete the existing file. To do this:

1. At the top of the edit item page, click on the 'Manage files' link in the file section (top of the page):

Screenshot of the file information area on the metadata entry page.
The file section on the metadata entry page. The Manage files link is highlighted.

2. Once the window opens, you can click the 'x' to the right hand side.

Screenshot of the manage files area
The manage files popup from the metadata entry form. Clicking the three dots reveals the delete option for the existing file.

3. You can then click 'Add files' or click 'Apply changes' and drag and drop a new file on the metadata entry page

4. Click save changes to save privately only or click the 'Publish item' button to save and publish the new version

Private items

Private items can be edited/ deleted the same way as public items (outlined above). Remember to click save changes and this will not create a new version.

However, if you wish to delete the entire item you can do so by scrolling to the bottom of the metadata form and click Delete item:

The item will no longer exist in My data (private items only).

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