How to delete phantom ArcGIS Online files?

[CharlieKaufman]

I recently had a user in my organization leave.  As part of my SOP for anyone who had access to our ArcGIS Online account I removed the user from all of the groups that they were apart of, transferred any files that they had to a temp folder in my account so I could review them to be either deleted or reassigned, and then I deleted the user's account. 

However this time, in the temp folder that I have set up in my Content, ArcGIS Online is telling me that there is nothing in the folder - at the same time telling me that there are 11 shared files in the folder.  I also have lost the ability to delete the temp folder.

Curious and highly annoying.   Any advice?

[Anonymous User]

Hi @CharlieKaufman , 

when changing the files over, did you unassign the user as the item owner, and reassign them to you? 

[CharlieKaufman]

Hi Keiren,

That was going to be my next step after I transferred the files.  Usually when someone leaves I go through and make myself the owner or another member of our team.   But this time the files seem to be in limbo, and I already managed to delete the employee who left.

[CharlieKaufman]

Update:

While working on another project and bringing some data from Arc Online into Pro, I decided to perform a test and used ArcPro's Catalog to delete my now stubborn temp folder.   And *zap* the folder and all the mystery contents got deleted.  They no longer show up in Arc Online.

No idea why that worked or why I just couldn't do that in ArcOnline in the first place, but I'm just going to roll with it.

But if anyone does happen to have a theory of explanation as to what was going on I'd be interested in to learning more.

[Anonymous User]

@CharlieKaufman , 

I am glad to hear it is solved.

Was the data created in Online done using the database and not the service?

It may be that the items were still registered in the geodatabase and that by deleting it while linked to the database allowed the connections to be deleted as well?

[CharlieKaufman]

I'm not sure how they were created.  The previous user did not have ArcPro privileges, so the only thing she could do would be to create stand alone data in Online.

I am such a small shop that I don't run a true Portal, I just move data through Online and Pro as I need.  So no idea why Pro allowed me to delete that folder when Online didn't.