Targeted Data Removal

Activate User's Guide
Version
2025.1
Targeted Data Removal

Important: The Targeted Data Removal wizard is for non-customer users only.

Use the Targeted Data Removal wizard to remove specific data or table information from the Dayforce Stage environment that is linked to Activate. You can select specific employees or filter for a subset of employees to delete (such as employees in a particular pay group or location). The wizard generates the scripts that are necessary to remove data from an HCM database. It keeps an audit trail with a removal history. You can download scripts more than one time. You can also run the removal directly in the associated Stage environment or download scripts to apply manually in another environment.

The Targeted Data Removal wizard can run deletions for customers with up to 150,000 customers.

Note: All Activate-generated deletion and rollback scripts that touch the Org Hierarchy (OrgUnit or OrgUnitParent tables) include org recalibration statements at the end. These statements remove the need to remember to run the script and the risk of the Org Hierarchy not loading as expected.

Note: You can run this wizard at any time during the project, and because many times as needed.

Dayforce Employees: The Targeted Data Removal wizard is similar to the Interactive Data Deletion wizard in the Implementation Toolset. They both start from a user-defined target table and traverse the database to find and delete any related child records.

Filtering records

Dayforce Employees: When you select the records to remove from the database, the resulting dataset might be large and slow to load. You can use the Filter page in Activate to target specific data for deletion. Targeting specific data decreases the number of resulting records and speeds up the process of clearing data. The dynamic Filter table shows all of the table records from the selected table.

Note: The first time the Filter page opens, it can show a maximum of 2,100 records for a selected table.

Running a deletion from a table with foreign key links
Action to take if you run a deletion from a table with foreign key links to the Primary Key (ID) of another table
If you run a deletion from a table and that table has...
Then, you can add a filter for the linked table’s...

ShortName column

 ShortName values. In the Column drop-down list, it’s shown as <linked table name> Name.
The operator values must be one of the following:
  • In: This value is the default.
  • Not In.

If all records in the starting table have a null value in the Foreign Key ID column, you can’t see it as a filter Column option. When you click Apply Filter, the selected filter combines to narrow the record selection grid.

DisplayName column

 DisplayName values. In the Column drop-down list, it’s shown as <linked column>.DisplayName.
The operator values must be one of the following:
  • In
  • Not In: The default.
You can use the type-ahead search and click.
If all of the records in the starting table have a null value for the FK ID column, you don’t see the linked table as a filter Column option.
If multiple rows in the deletion table are linked to a single record in the PK table, you see only one option in the filter. For example, when deleting from the EmployeeEarning table, you’ll see only one drop-down list option per the linked PREarning record.
XRefCode column XRefCode values. It’s shown as <linked column>.XRefCode in the Column drop-down lists.
The operator values must be one of the following:
  • In
  • Not In: This value is the default.

You can use the type-ahead search and select more than one value.
If all records in the starting table have a null value for the FK ID column, you won’t see the linked table as a filter Column option.
If multiple rows in the deletion table are linked to a single record in the PK table, you’ll only see one option in the filter. For example, when deleting from the EmployeeEmploymentStatus table, you’ll only see one drop-down list option per the linked PayClass record.

Prerequisites

Any data to be deleted using this wizard must be in the Stage environment for the wizard to find it. Even if you want to delete information from a secondary environment, make sure that the Stage environment is up to date to generate the deletion scripts.

Tasks

To select records for removal:
  1. In Activate Central, click Manage Your Data. The Manage Your Data wizards show.
  2. Click Targeted Data Removal.
  3. On the Summary page, click Remove data based on a Dayforce database table. The select page opens.
  4. Enter a broad or specific description, as needed.

    You can access this description in the History section. It helps you filter on the scripts run in the project history, as necessary.

  5. Select the drop-down list and select the Dayforce table containing the records you want to remove.

    The list includes all tables in the Dayforce database, in order by table name.

    Activate removes the records that you selected from the table you selected. Any records in the child tables that reference your selected records are removed.

    You can also select the top bar and start typing to narrow the results. This refers to the SQL tables that Dayforce is created through. The selected records are removed from the table. Any records in child tables that reference your selected records are also removed.

    Note: To scroll quickly down the list of tables, click in the scroll section of the list and use the mouse to scroll down.

    Certain tables are restricted in the starting table list, such as Audit tables or Payroll Permanent tables or tables without any Primary Key. They might, however, be affected as child tables. For example, if you delete a pay run or an earning that has committed pay associated with it, the associated pay records in the Permanent tables are also deleted.

    The Employee table is also restricted in the list. To remove specific employees, you should use the Remove Employees feature in Targeted Data Removal or the Data Management Center feature in Dayforce. You can use the Clean Up Data for Parallel or Go Live wizard in Activate to clear employees all together.

  6. Indicate how you want to run the removal:
    • Execute it directly in Dayforce: Activate generates and runs the delete script in your Dayforce instance. The delete and rollback scripts are also available in the removal history for reference. The wizard runs the generated scripts in the associated Stage environment on its own. A script is created and a Rollback script that’s accessible through the History page. This option is the default. You can rollback Activate and Dayforce to before the removal. See the View the removal history section (below) and Rollback Activate and Dayforce.
    • Generate scripts for me to run manually: Activate generates a downloadable .zip file containing the delete and rollback scripts. You can review the scripts and run them manually in the Dayforce database. These scripts are also available in the removal history. The scripts include a timestamp to help you determine when they were generated. You can use the timestamps to match deleted and rollback scripts
  7. Indicate if you want to remove all records from the table:

    • Yes, clear all records: The wizard removes every record in the table and any associated child records.
    • Select specific records using filters: An additional page opens where you can filter on the table columns to find specific records to remove.
    • Provide a file with the list of Record Identifiers to remove: Upload a file that contains the list of Record Identifiers to remove. When you click this field, the question “Select which Record Identifier you’ll provide” shows.

  8. Click Done.

    A warning message states that you should download and review the Impact report. Check to see if any child table records will be removed because of references to your starting table.

    The Download button shows to the left of the OK and Cancel buttons.

  9. Click the Download button.

    The Impact report is downloaded to your computer. This Excel file contains an alphabetical list of the tables and the count of records to be deleted for the respective tables.

  10. Review the report and select any additional tables that need to be deleted. This report helps you to determine if you also need to delete any other tables when you execute your data removal.

  11. If you clicked Yes, Clear all records, a prompt shows for you to confirm your choice. Confirm the following:
    • Starting Table
    • Record Count
    • Removal Method  
  12. If you selected Provide a file with the list of Record Identifiers to remove:
    a.
    		Select the Record Identifier.
    b. Click Done. The Select page opens.
    c.Go to the Select the Record Identifier you’ll provide section (below).

    A prompt shows for you to confirm your choice.

  13. If you selected click specific records, a page opens where you can filter the results in a grid. Do one of the following:
    • Select all options.
    • Select specific records by selecting the checkboxes for the appropriate rows.

    Note: See the Filter the records section (below).

  14. Click OK.
To select the record identifier to provide:

This procedure applies if you selected “Provide a file with the list of Record Identifiers to remove” on the Summary page.

  1. On the Select page, click Download and save the Record Identifier Data spreadsheet to your computer.
  2. Configure your custom file.
  3. Update the Record Identifier Data spreadsheet with your data.
  4. When you’re ready to upload the spreadsheet into Activate, on the Select page, click Upload.
  5. Click Next.
  6. Use the filters on the page to narrow down the selected records.
  7. Review the data in the grid and make any necessary changes.
  8. When you’re finished, click Done. A message prompts you to confirm that you want to continue. The starting table, record count, and removal method are also included in the table.
  9. Click OK.

    Activate generates a script to delete the selected employee records. After the script is downloaded, you can view the removal record in the Removal History on the Summary page. See the View the removal history section.

  10. Click one of the following:
    • Add Email and enter your email address to be notified when the installation process ends instead of waiting for it to finish.
    • Next when the installation is complete.

    You can also click Download Scripts to download and save a copy of the scripts to your computer.

    Activate Central opens.

To filter records

If you selected No, I will select specific records on the Summary page, the Filter page opens. Use this page to add column-driven filters to narrow down the grid selection and select specific records.

  1. Click Add a Filter.

    A new filter row shows in the Filters table.

  2. Select the And/Or drop down and select one of the following:
    • AND: This option is the default. When creating the first filter, AND is the required selection.
    • OR
  3. Click the Column drop-down list and select the column from the alphabetized list.

    If you change your selection in this field, Activate clears the values shown in the Operator and Value fields.

  4. Click the Operator drop-down list and select the datatype-specific operator from the following:
    • Not Empty
    • Equal
    • Not Equal
    • Less Than
    • Less Than Equal
    • Greater Than
    • Greater Than Equal
  5. In the Value field, enter the validation qualifier (such as the date).

    If you selected “Empty” or “Not Empty” as the Operator, you don’t have to enter a value.

    Note: If you want to delete a row in the Filters table, click the at the end of the row.

  6. If you want to select the records you want to remove from the table, select the appropriate checkboxes in the table at the bottom of the page.

    Use the scrollbar at the bottom of the table to view all columns in the table.

    You can select either of the following options: Select All or Clear All.

    Note: If you selected Select All, Activate generates the Delete script with WHERE clauses based on the filters. There’s no limit on the number of records that can be deleted. (If you didn’t select Select All, a maximum of 2,100 records could be deleted.)

    Note: You can select consecutive filter rows to group by clicking Group Selected. If a row isn’t valid for grouping, the Group Selected button is grayed out. To select one or more rows that are currently grouped and ungroup them, click Ungroup Selected.

    Note: You can only select tables with a Primary Key for deletion.

  7. Click Apply Filters.

    Based on the filters, Activate generates a SELECT statement. It also refreshes the list of records shown based on the filter selections.

    Note: If you want to delete all filter rows and show all records in the table again, click Clear All Filters.

    Note: Use the Filter page to refresh and narrow down the list of table records shown in the selection grid. The deletion script is generated based on the list of IDs of selected rows. The filter conditions aren’t part of the deletion script.

    Note: To continue, you must select at least one record in the table.

To remove records:
  1. On the Select page, click Done. The Remove page opens.

    All scripts are automatically generated with the PCR template headers and the associated Rollback scripts in case that they need to be applied to a Production environment.

  2. To receive an email when the script ends, instead of waiting for it to finish, click Add Email and enter your email address.

    Activate Central opens.

To remove employees:
  1. In Activate Central, click Manage Your Data. The Manage Your Data wizards show.
  2. Click Targeted Data Removal.
  3. On the Summary page, click Remove Employees.

    Note: You can delete employees with no work assignments.

  4. On the Select page, enter a description for tracking purposes.
  5. Indicate how you want to run the removal:
    • Execute it directly in Dayforce: Activate generates and runs the delete scripts in your Dayforce instance. The delete and rollback scripts are also available for reference in the removal history.
    • Generate scripts for me to run manually: Activate generates a downloadable zip file containing the delete and rollback scripts. You can review and run these scripts manually on the Dayforce database. These scripts are also available in the removal history.
  6. Click the following categories to expand them, then select the employee appropriate attributes and subattributes:
    • Employee Details
    • Employee Groups & Policies

    Selecting the attributes narrows down the number of employees to delete.

    corner of the page.

  7. Click Next. A grid shows the selected employees, along with some key employee fields pulled from Dayforce to help you confirm that you have the correct employees.
  8. Do the following to refine further the list of employees, as appropriate:
    • To add a new employee, click New and search for the employee name.
    • To delete an employee, click in the row containing the employee's name and click Delete.

      Note: If you try to delete employees with committed pay data, a warning message shows. Activate prevents you from accidentally deleting employees who should remain in the system.

    • To download the file to your computer so you can review and update it, click Download File. You can also keep this file for audit.
    • To upload an updated file from your computer, click Upload File.

      Note: When you upload an edited field, the only fields that Activate validates are: Employee Identifier, First Name, and Last Name.

    • To refresh the page, click Refresh.
    • To download and view the errors file, click Download Errors File.
    • To save your changes in the grid, click Save.

    Note: The only editable fields in the grid are: Employee Identifier, First Name, and Last Name. The other fields are for information only.

    Note: When you upload a new employee removal data file on the grid page or update employee removal data directly on the grid, Activate populates the employee values fields for employee removal. For the newly populated fields to show in the grid, you might need to do a manual refresh after updating employee removal data directly in the grid.

  9. Click Done. A message confirms that you’re ready to continue with the removal process. The message contains the starting table and the removal method.

    A warning message prompts you to download and review the Impact report. Check to see if references to your starting table will cause any child table records to be removed.

  10. Click Download Impact Report to download an Excel file that contains a list of the affected child records.

    The report includes:

    • A list of the affected tables in alphabetical order.
    • The total number of records to be deleted from each table.
  11. Review the report to determine what other tables you might need to delete to execute the data removal.
  12. Click one of the following:
    • OK to continue with the removal process.
    • Cancel to return to the previous page.
  13. Click OK. Activate does the removal process.

    The wizard removes employees and all employee Position Management data.

To view the removal history:

Use this option to audit and track the history of deletions that have been run in Activate.

  1. In Activate Central, click Manage Your Data. The Manage Your Data wizards show.

  2. Click Targeted Data Removal.

  3. On the Summary page, click View removal history. The History page opens with a list of all successful removal records that have taken place in Activate by any user, starting with the most recent. Failed or in-progress deletions don’t show in the list. Also included is the actual number of records deleted from the database.

    Note: You can use the Search field to search by description, user name, or starting table.

  4. Click to expand the row containing the removal you want to review.

    The row expands and the following information shows for the selected removal:

    • The user who ran the deletion and the date and time. The date is the time of execution completion, in server time.
    • The SQL table targeted by the script.
    • The record count indicating the number of checkboxes selected for deletion.
    • The method of removal used.
  5. If you’re executing the removal directly in Dayforce, Activate makes a backup before beginning the process. If the removal fails or you accidentally removed something in error, use the Rollback Activate and Dayforce feature in the Profile menu () to restore to the backup taken before the removal.
  6. If you want to generate the scripts, you can do one of the following:
    • Wait for the job to finish and download the scripts from the page.
    • Come back later and download the scripts from the Removal History section.

      If you want to wait, click Download Scripts to download the deletion and rollback scripts generated by that particular removal process as a .zip file that includes the installation timestamp in the folder name. You can use downloaded scripts manually in the SQL Server.

      Note: The Download Scripts link isn’t available for removals that were run before the 90-day retention period. Deletions and rollback scripts generated before the retention period are purged. This action applies to both the main table and the audit table.

      Scripts generated in the past might no longer be able to be applied on the current database. Add a new removal to make sure that the deletion scripts identify all current and dependent records in the database.

  7. Click Back.

Important consideration

The Targeted Data Removal wizard interacts directly with the SQL database for the project. Work closely with someone who has access and experience with SQL to ensure that you’re targeting the correct table for deletion.

Results

The following information has been removed from the system:

  • All targeted employees.
  • All employee position managed associated data. This data includes employees assigned to positions and org unit data (locations) where these units are assigned to positions.

To see the executed details, go to Targeted Data Removal > View removal history.

Employee Removal Data template fields

All templates have the same basic structure:

  • Instructions tab: Helps you understand the purpose of the data and complete the fields in the template.
  • Data tab: Contains headers for the data to be included in the template. The headers remain the same, but you can change the column order. If you add more columns, Activate ignores them.

All number ranges in the templates include the numbers at both ends of the range.

To see a list of the tables in the template, click here.
Employee Identifier
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
1 Alphanumeric. Unique value between 1-40 characters. Enables the system to identify employees uniquely. Use the same number assigned to the employee in the Getting Started HR data loads. 3241245
100000006
abc123499		 In the context of this import, the Employee Identifier, First Name, and Last Name are included to help users identify employees when completing the template. This required field is used to validate the correct employee record. The provided values must be an exact match to an existing employee record in Dayforce
First Name
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
2 String1 between 1-64 characters. The legal first name of the employee. Joe In the context of this import, the Employee Identifier, First Name, and Last Name help users identify employees when completing the template. This required field is used to validate the correct employee record. The values provided must be an exact match to an existing employee record in Dayforce

1 Special characters accepted within the string include: alphanumeric, space, period, apostrophe, dash, number symbol #, comma, underscore, forward slash /, parentheses (), &

Last Name
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
3 String1 between 1-64 characters. The legal last name of the employee. Smith In the context of this import, the Employee Identifier, First Name, and Last Name help users identify employees when completing the template. This required field is used to validate the correct employee record. The values provided must be an exact match to an existing employee record in Dayforce

1 Special characters accepted within the string include: alphanumeric, space, period, apostrophe, dash, number symbol #, comma, underscore, forward slash /, parentheses (), &

Employee Number
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
4 Not required for upload. The employee's current employee number.   The current values for these fields verify the selected employees and make sure that they’re the correct records to be removed.
Status
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
5 Not required for upload. The employee's current status.   The current values for these fields verify the selected employees and make sure that they’re the correct records to be removed.
Pay Group
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
6 Not required for upload. The employee's current pay group assignment.   The current values for these fields verify the selected employees and make sure that they’re the correct records to be removed.
Most Recent Hire Date
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
7 Not required for upload. The date the employee was hired. In case the employee was rehired, the most recent hire date.   The current values for these fields verify the selected employees and make sure that they’re the correct records to be removed.
Termination Date
Order Data Type Description Examples Why This is Needed
8 Not required for upload. The date the employee was terminated (if they were terminated).   The current values for these fields verify the selected employees and make sure that they’re the correct records to be removed.