A behavior that we receive reports of occasionally is that, if a user makes changes to a library item, it seems to disappear from their Paperless library. This is a concern, because it appears that data that was previously available in a Paperless library appears not to be available any longer.

Although it may seem that library items are disappearing from a library completely, it has only been removed from the smart collection currently being viewed. This is an expected behavior in Paperless.

It should be possible to locate the library item by navigating to LIBRARY, which will display all library items in a library.

How to tell if you are reproducing this behaivor

Here is one example of a set of steps users follow to reproduce this behavior:

1. In Paperless, navigate to the Today smart collection, listed under RECENT:

2. Select a library item.

3. In the details pane, change the date listed for the library item to something other than today's date:

    

After following these steps, the library item should no longer appear in the Today smart collection, and the Details pane should display a message Nothing Selected:

Why this behavior is reproducible

This behavior is reproducible with the steps we outline above because the Today smart collection only displays library items where the Date field for a library item is set to Today's date. If the Date field for a library item that appears in the Today smart collection is changed to anything other than today's date, the library item's Date field will no longer match the criteria set for

Why this is an expected behavior in Paperless

Smart collections are saved searches: they only display library items if details information for the library item matches search criteria defined for the smart collection. As we explain in this knowledge base article, each of the smart collections that display under the headings RECENT and TYPES uses search criteria set automatically by Paperless.

If a library item's details are changed in a way that they no longer meet search criteria for a smart collection, the library item will no longer display in the smart collection.

We explain smart collections in additional detail in this knowledge base article.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can be done to work around this behavior?

Something that is frequently reported to us by users who report this behavior is that they were using the Today smart collection to determine which library items details information should be entered for.

The Inbox is a collection that was created specifically for this purpose. New library items should appear in the library Inbox, and once a library item has been processed, it can be removed using the Done button.

We describe the Inbox in more detail in this knowledge base article.

We describe each section of the source list in this knowledge base article.

Where can I find library items that no longer appear in the Today smart collection after I've changed the date?

LIBRARY is a global view of the Paperless library. If a library item exists in a Paperless library, the library item should display under LIBRARY.

We provide a full walkthrough of the Paperless source list in this knowledge base article.