Data Discovery & Risk Insights 25.4.1 Help Center

# Holds

NOTE: Applies to unstructured data only.

Not included in the simplified workspace view.

A hold is a way of protecting content indefinitely when it cannot be removed from the system according to the normal retention schedule. This might be the result of a number of actions such a legal preservation order, a pending investigation, or a regulatory request. Content that is on hold cannot be destroyed until the hold has been released.

A workspace may have multiple holds associated with it. A document cannot be deleted from Data Discovery & Risk Insights until all holds from all workspaces are released.

For any documents placed on hold that have not been collected, collection and full processing are triggered at the time the hold is created. You can view the status of the collection on the Holds page for the workspace.

The Holds page is accessed from the HOLDS tab of the workspace artifacts pane on the workspace overview page. The artifacts pane provides a quick view of active holds and provides access to the Holds page for more detailed information and to take action. On the Holds page, use the filter above the list of holds to show all holds or holds with the desired status. Click in the row for an individual hold to reveal action icons

Open the detail pane () for a selected hold to take action and to see the responsible person, the date the hold was created, the total size of the documents on hold, the number of documents on hold relative to the number of documents in the workspace, and collection details for the documents on hold.

TIP: You have access to features and functions based on your assigned permissions. You will only see features and functions that have been enabled for the workspace you are viewing and that you have permission to see.

To create a hold

1. On the workspace Overview page, click the HOLDS tab of the workspace artifacts pane and then do one of the following.

   - Click NEW HOLD.

   - Click MANAGE HOLDS. On the resulting Holds page, click NEW HOLD.

   The New Hold dialog box opens.

2. Complete the details for the new hold.

   Option | Description
   --- | ---
   Hold name | Type a meaningful, unique name for the new hold. Limits: Maximum 50 characters.
   Description | Type a meaningful description for the new hold. Limits: Maximum 250 characters.
   Responsible person | Type the user name of the person who will be responsible for this hold. As you type, suggestions display. Click the desired user to select it. Defaults to the user creating the hold. To change to a different user, delete the default entry and then add the name of the desired user. Limits: Only one responsible person can be defined.

   A summary indicates the number of documents selected, number of families (if applicable), and the number of items to be placed on hold.

3. Click CREATE.

   The hold is created and is available for actions to put documents on hold.

To apply a hold to all data items within a workbook

1. On the Workbooks page within a workspace, click the row for the desired workbook and then click the open detail pane icon ().

2. In the workbook detail pane, click ACTIVITY.

   The available actions and workbook action activity history display.

3. In the FILE ACTIONS section, click Hold .

   The Add Items to a Hold dialog opens.

4. Do one of the following:

   - To apply an existing hold, click the desired hold name. Only active holds display.

   - To create a new hold, click NEW HOLD.

     1. In the New Hold dialog, complete the options for the new hold.

        Option | Description
        --- | ---
        Hold name | Type a meaningful, unique name for the new hold. Limits: Maximum 50 characters.
        Description | Type a meaningful description for the new hold. Limits: Maximum 250 characters.
        Responsible person | Type the user name of the person who will be responsible for this hold. As you type, suggestions display. Click the desired user to select it. Defaults to the user creating the hold. To change to a different user, delete the default entry and then add the name of the desired user. Limits: Only one responsible person can be defined.

     2. Click CREATE.

        The new hold is created and now displays in the list of holds.

     3. Click the name of the new hold to select it.

5. Click APPLY.

   The hold process begins. The hold action displays in the history on the ACTIVITY tab of the workbook detail pane.

   You can view the progress of the hold in the detail pane and in the workbook list for the workspace.

To apply a hold to data items in the content list

NOTE: Applies only to unstructured data.

1. When viewing a content list, do one of the following.

   - To add all data items in the list to a hold, click > Add all to Hold in the action ribbon.

   - To add selected data items in the list to a hold, select the desired documents and then click > Add selected to Hold in the action ribbon.

     TIP: To select multiple data items, use shift+click to select consecutive data items or ctrl+click to select non-consectuive data items.

   The Add Items to a Hold dialog opens.

2. Do one of the following:

   - To apply an existing hold, click the desired hold name. Only active holds display.

   - To create a new hold, click NEW HOLD.

     1. In the New Hold dialog, complete the options for the new hold.

        Option | Description
        --- | ---
        Hold name | Type a meaningful, unique name for the new hold. Limits: Maximum 50 characters.
        Description | Type a meaningful description for the new hold. Limits: Maximum 250 characters.
        Responsible person | Type the user name of the person who will be responsible for this hold. As you type, suggestions display. Click the desired user to select it. Defaults to the user creating the hold. To change to a different user, delete the default entry and then add the name of the desired user. Limits: Only one responsible person can be defined.

     2. Click CREATE.

        The new hold is created and now displays in the list of holds.

     3. Click the name of the new hold to select it.

3. Click APPLY.

   The hold is applied to the appropriate data items.

To edit a hold

1. On the workspace Overview page, click the HOLDS tab of the workspace artifacts pane and then click MANAGE HOLDS.

2. On the Holds page, click or hover over an active hold (status is On Hold) and then click the edit icon ().

   TIP: You can also click in the row for the desired active hold, open the detail pane (), and then click EDIT.

   The Edit Hold dialog opens

3. Edit the hold information as desired.

   NOTE: Note: If you change the Hold name, it must be unique. Duplicate Hold names are not allowed within the same workspace.

4. Click OK.

   The hold is updated.

To release a hold

Releasing a hold maintains the data and frees it from its retention hold.

1. On the workspace Overview page, click the HOLDS tab of the workspace artifacts pane and then click MANAGE HOLDS.

2. On the Holds page, click or hover over an active hold (status is On Hold or Release Failed) and then click the release hold icon ().

   TIP: You can also click in the row for the desired active hold, open the detail pane (), and then click RELEASE HOLD.

3. In the confirmation dialog, click YES to confirm the action.

   The hold is released. For documents that were placed on hold and then protected, the pre-protection version of the document is removed from OpenText Core Data Discovery & Risk Insights when the hold is released.

To view the documents associated with a hold

Do either of the following to view all documents associated with a hold.

- On the workspace Overview page, click the HOLDS tab of the workspace artifacts pane.

  Hover over or click in the row for the desired hold and then click the view contents icon () that displays in the right column.

- On the workspace overview page, click the HOLDS tab of the workspace artifacts pane and then click MANAGE HOLDS.

  On the Holds page, do any of the following

  - Hover over or click in the row for the desired hold and then click the view contents icon () that displays in the right column.

  - Click in the row for the desired hold . Open the detail pane () and click VIEW CONTENTS.

  - Click in the row for the desired hold . Open the detail pane () and click the bar chart for the documents on hold.

The Content tab opens and displays the list of documents on hold in the context of the workspace. If a document was placed on hold and then protected, you will not see the content of the document.

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Version 25.4.1 | Last updated January 2026
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