delete_element

Permanently delete an element from a form.

This destroys data and cannot be undone. Deleting an element drops its column from the form’s data table, so every value that every entry holds in that element is gone for good. There is no undo, and no backup is taken.

Use this only when the person you are working with has specifically asked for this element to be removed. Do not use it to tidy up a form, to fix a mistake you made while building something, or because an element looks unused - an element with no data today may still be part of how the application works. If the aim is only to stop people seeing or using the element, hide it instead: set its ‘display’ property to false with the update tool for that kind of element (ie: update_text_box_element or update_list_element, etc). Setting ‘display’ to false takes it out of the form while keeping the data and leaving anything that refers to it still working.

This tool takes two calls. Call it first with just the element, and it will NOT delete anything: it returns a report of what would be lost, along with a confirmation_token. The report covers shows where the element is referenced, and which derived value elements and other code-based parts of the system will break if the element is removed. Show that report to the person you are working with and get their agreement. Then call the tool again with the same element and the confirmation token to carry out the deletion. The token only works for that element, for you, and only for a few minutes.