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Error "User <username> could not be deleted because they own content." When Attempting to Delete a User

Udgivelsesdato: Jul 17, 2025
Beskrivelse
When attempting to delete a user, the following error message might occur even though it appears that the user does not own any workbooks, views, data sources etc:
User <username> could not be deleted because they own content. <username> has been unlicensed.

Cause

A user cannot be removed if any content is owned, including projects, but they will be unlicensed. For more information, see the Tableau Cloud Help to Remove users from the server.

For a subscription, if a user A subscribes user B to a subscription, this subscription will not be visible from user A's contents page.  User A does not have permission to see what a specific user is subscribed to.
Løsning

Step 1 - Find the content owned by the user

  1. Navigate to the owner's user page (search the owner's name and select their name under Users).
  2. All content owned by the user, including projects, will appear in separate tabs. 
  3. Transfer content to another user.

Note:
Make sure to enable the creation of Ask Data lenses and collections on the Site Setting page because when they are disabled the corresponding tabs are hidden and the site administrator can not check these contents in the UI.

Step 2 - Find subscriptions

A Tableau Server Administrator can navigate to Tasks > Subscriptions and there may be a subscription that is still associated with the user.  A user search may not find the subscription associated with the user.

Sort by the "Subscriptions" column then scroll to the user.  The user may have "subscribed by" still associated with their account. Make a note of the users that have subscriptions and resubscribe under a new content owner.

If a user is subscribed to a view then unlicensed, their subscription still exists but the email does not get sent.  For a very large user base,  if the unlicensed user is the only user getting a subscription, it will be important for Server performance to delete this user's subscription.  Tableau Server will do the work but not send the email. 

 

Step 3: Delete the content from Recycle Bin (Workbooks, Projects & Data Sources)

 

  • You can access the Recycle Bin from the Home page of your Tableau site. Expand the side pane, and then select Recycle Bin.
  • Apply the "User" filter available on the right pane and delete the workbooks owned by the user.
  • Using the "Content Type" filter available on the top-right corner, change filter to "Projects" and perform the same steps to delete any Projects owned by the user. 
  • Change the "Content Type" filter to "Data Sources" and perform the same steps to delete any data sources owned by the user.

 

Now try removing the user from the site.


 

Vidensartikelnummer

001473120

 
Indlæser
Salesforce Help | Article