[How To] Quickly Delete a LARGE number of rows

Ok, so I created an app and made it public with signup. Within 7 days I had over 30,000 people sign up for access. I quickly ran out of row space and began seeing some performance degradation… well, to the point that the app wouldn’t even load. So, after submitting a ticket to support, I was told that I needed to get my row-count down to a manageable level… but here’s the rub. I can’t simply [ctrl] + [a] + [delete] because there are relationships and things in there… I need to preserve users that have input data, but I can safely delete all the lookie-loos and if they come back, they’ll just get a new row.

Ok so… How did I bulk delete 30,000 rows without corrupting my data?

  1. In your editor, create a hidden page with a normal list and filter it on only display the records that are safe to delete.
    a. this filter is specific to you and your needs. I claim no liability for lost data.
    b. I can’t believe we live in an age where I have to add a disclaimer :frowning:
  2. set the action on that list to “Delete Row”
  3. Install an app like Auto Mouse Click
  4. Setup a shortcut to start/stop (I used [cmd]+[z])
  5. Hover your mouse over the top row delete button and start the auto clicker.

For best results, run this on a separate computer so that your primary machine is free to continue work.

NOTE: This trick can be used to migrate data, or really anything you want to automate when operating against a large number of rows.

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Thanks for sharing!

Here’s an alternative way to do this.

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