Restore Soft-Deleted QCLF Topics and Messages

QCLF soft deletion keeps permanent Topic/Message rows recoverable instead of immediately erasing forum history. Authorized moderators can restore a deleted Topic or permanent Message when the applicable restore.content permission is available.

Restore clears deletion metadata; it does not recreate a new Topic/Message ID. Existing relationships therefore continue to point at the original durable content where still valid.

Restore a Deleted Topic

  1. Open the Category as an actual moderator and expand Deleted Topics.
  2. Locate the deleted Topic and select Restore when the control is available.
  3. QCLF clears deleted_at/deleted_by, records a restore audit, and redirects to the original Topic ID.
  4. Verify the Topic is visible again according to its publication/access state.

Restore a Deleted Message

  1. Open the parent Topic as a moderator with restore.content.
  2. Use the restore control on the deleted permanent Message.
  3. QCLF clears the Message deletion flags/metadata and recalculates the Topic reply count, last reply, and activity fields.
  4. Verify chronological placement and any remaining Topic-level restrictions.

Important Boundaries

  • A merged Topic cannot be restored because its Messages were moved into the merge destination and the deleted source stores a redirect target.
  • A Topic restore requires both actual Deleted Topics moderator access and restore.content.
  • A Message restore requires restore.content in the parent Category; if the Topic itself is deleted, restore the Topic first so the normal Topic moderation surface is available.
  • Restoring deletion metadata does not automatically change unrelated approval/publication state such as a deliberately rejected guest submission.

Restore Is Audited

Topic/Message restore operations write moderation history and trigger the corresponding restore notification path. QCLF treats recovery as an accountable moderation action, not an invisible database edit.

Community Discussion

Want to compare forum workflows, share practical QCLF tips, or discuss how other Joomla site owners use this feature? Visit the QC Live Forum Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific entitlement problems, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.