Begin with an inventory, not a delete button
A custom document can pass through an editing application, a project folder, an app upload, an external destination, and a support conversation. Deletion needs to address the locations that actually exist in your workflow. It also needs the business’s approved handling process for records that must be retained or reviewed.
This guide is operational planning, not legal advice about whether or when a document must be erased. Involve the appropriate responsible person for your business before setting retention or deletion rules.
A copy-location register
| Location | Owner | Confirmation needed |
|---|---|---|
| Production source and exports | Production lead | Which drafts and final copies exist? |
| App-hosted delivery | Store administrator | What does the supported deletion action remove? |
| External provider | Storage owner | File deletion, sharing, and provider retention behavior |
| Support attachments | Support lead | Whether extra document copies were retained |
| Backup system | Backup owner | Applicable retention and recovery policy |
Add any other actual location. Do not create unnecessary copies just to complete the register; record references and owners instead.
Fictional example: a delivered plan and its draft
A merchant reviews deletion for order 4608. The final plan is associated with the delivery app, a draft remains in a project folder, and an external provider holds a separate export. Removing the app association alone would not resolve the other locations. The merchant follows the approved process for each and records the action and result.
A buyer may also have saved a local copy. The merchant should not claim that deleting hosted material erases that customer-held copy.
A confirmation checklist
- Verify the request or scheduled deletion event through the store’s process.
- Identify the exact order, item, and file revisions involved.
- Check applicable retention decisions with the responsible owner.
- Perform supported actions in each relevant system.
- Verify the intended hosted access change using a safe method.
- Record completion, exceptions, and any remaining retention period.
Shopify’s Files guidance is relevant to public material stored there, but it does not describe deletion from a separate app’s storage. Likewise, an external link in QuickAttach’s delivery workflow does not make QuickAttach the owner of that provider’s copy.
Ask support precise questions about app deletion and availability rather than assuming that removing a link removes every underlying object. Keep the completion record factual: what was removed, from where, and what remains under the approved policy.
Deliver the right file with the right order
See how QuickAttach connects a customer-specific file or link to a Shopify order item.
See the QuickAttach order-to-download walkthrough