Feature Request: Make “Include Deleted Files” default value configurable when granting access

Overview of the Feature Request

This feature request proposes making the default value of the “Include Deleted Files” option configurable when granting access permissions through the Dataverse user interface.

Currently, this option is enabled by default when users follow an access request link, even in situations where including deleted files is not desired. This results in unnecessary manual steps and increases the risk of unintentionally granting access to deleted content.

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What kind of user is the feature intended for?

Primarily:

• Curators
• Superusers
• Sysadmins

These roles are typically responsible for reviewing and approving access requests and are directly affected by this behavior.

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What inspired the request?

Feedback from users responsible for managing access permissions.

Users report that when they receive an email requesting access to files and click the provided link to grant permissions, the “Include Deleted Files” checkbox is selected by default, despite the fact that they never intend to include deleted files.

This creates friction in a frequent workflow and introduces the possibility of human error.

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What existing behavior do you want changed?

The current behavior automatically enables the “Include Deleted Files” option by default when granting access permissions.

We would like this behavior to be configurable rather than hardcoded, allowing administrators to control the default state of this option.

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Any brand new behavior do you want to add to Dataverse?

Yes. We propose introducing a configuration mechanism (for example, an admin setting, system property, or environment variable) that allows administrators to define the default value of the “Include Deleted Files” option in the permission-granting workflow.

This configuration could be applied globally at the Dataverse instance level.

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Any open or closed issues related to this feature request?

6587 deleted files shown on grant permission

Are you thinking about creating a pull request for this feature?

At this stage, this is being submitted as a feature request. Depending on feedback from the Dataverse maintainers and overall feasibility, our organization (CIMMYT) may consider contributing a pull request in the future.

Start by locating the Dataverse permission-granting workflow and the code that sets the “Include Deleted Files” checkbox default. Review existing patterns for instance-level admin settings, system properties, or environment variables before choosing the configuration approach. Done means administrators can control the default while the access-granting workflow still behaves correctly.