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Archive or delete documents older than a set age

A nightly check that moves documents past a certain age into an Archive folder — or deletes them — using a Content Age trigger. Includes when to use a retention policy instead, and the two settings that stop a first run from touching everything at once.

Catalog administratorsContent Central 7.8+20 minutesVerified 2026-09-05

Before you begin

  • An Archive folder exists in the catalog (for the move version)
  • For deletion, sign-off from whoever owns your records policy

When you're done, documents of this type that are older than the age you set move themselves into the Archive folder every night — or, if you choose the delete version, are removed — without anyone running a search.

The planDocument type scope
  1. Trigger
    1. Content Age › Age of Content in this Document TypeAge Type: Age of Content · Age: 7 Years · Process Interval: Every Day on Hour 2 · Reprocess Matching Records After: 30 Days
  2. Action
    1. Content - Move to FolderFolder Path: …\Archive (or Content - Delete, which must be the last action)
  3. Rule
    1. "Older than 7 years → archive", enabled

Retention policy or workflow?

Content Central has a purpose-built Retention Policy tile on every document type: a retention period, a destruction schedule, per-document exemptions, and control over who may override. If your goal is legal retention — "destroy after seven years, unless on hold" — use that; it's designed for auditors. The guide is Set up document retention policies.

Use this workflow recipe when you want something the policy doesn't do: move aged documents into an archive folder (or a different catalog), notify someone, or combine the age check with other conditions.

Build the trigger

  1. Go to Administration > Catalogs & Document Types, pick the Catalog and Document Type, click the Workflow tile, then Triggers > New Trigger.

  1. Type: Content Age and Age of Content in this Document Type. Trigger Name: Older than 7 years.

  1. Age Type: Age of Content — the document's own age, from the date it was created. The other options measure the age of the current version, which is what you want for "hasn't been revised in a year" rather than "is old."

  1. Age: 7 Years.

  1. Process Interval: Every Day, on Hour 2 — off-hours, because the first run may move a lot. Process Start: On First Interval. Reprocess Matching Records After: 30 Days.

  1. Click Save.

Warning

The first run matches every document already past the age. On a large catalog that can be tens of thousands of moves in one night. Test on a copy of the type, or start with a much higher age and lower it in steps over several nights.

Build the action

Archive version: click Actions > New Action. Type: Content - Move to Folder. Action Name: Move to Archive. Under Folder Path, pick the Archive folder with Select a subfolder…. Save.

Delete version: Type: Content - Delete. Action Name: Delete aged documents. Save. Deleted documents go to the Deleted Content location, not straight to oblivion — but treat this as destructive anyway.

Important

If a rule has several actions, Content Central requires Content - Delete to be the last one (The delete action must be last in the series.). Anything you want to do with the document — export it, email about it — goes before the delete.

Wire the rule

  1. Click Rules > New Rule. Rule Name: Older than 7 years → archive.

  1. Add Trigger: Older than 7 years. Add Action: Move to Archive (or Delete aged documents). Apply.

Test it

  1. On a test document type, capture one document and set the trigger's Age: to 5 Minutes with Process Interval Every 5 Minutes.

  1. After the interval, browse to the Archive folder (or check the deleted-content location for the delete version).

What you should see: the test document moved (or gone), with the rule in its View History. Set the real age and interval before enabling it on the live type.

Variations

Want this insteadChange this
Age since last revision rather than creationAge Type: Age of Current Version of Content (Major and Minor)
Archive into a different catalogAction Content - Change Catalog with Destination Catalog: (folder structure must exist there)
Export before deletingActions Content - Export and Export Data, then Content - Delete last (export recipe)
Only archive documents whose status is ClosedTick Use Multiple Triggers, AND, and add a Content Query › by Field Value(s) trigger on the status field
Warn before archivingA second rule with a lower age and a Send E-mail action (reminder recipe)
Whole catalog at onceSub-type Age of Content in a Catalog