--- title: "Hibernating and Expiring a Group" slug: "hibernating-and-expiring-a-group" description: "How to hibernate or expire an infoodle group via its Hibernation or Expiration date: keeps history, blocks membership changes; expiry also hides it from sends." updated: 2026-10-17T04:34:16Z published: 2026-10-17T04:34:16Z canonical: "help.infoodle.com/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.infoodle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Hibernating and Expiring a Group Hibernation and expiry let you pause a group while keeping its history. **Hibernation** keeps the group in infoodle but stops all membership changes. **Expiry** also hides the group from message pick‑lists, removing it from everyday use. Both states can be reversed at any time. Choose the state by asking: **“Do I still need to message this group?”** - If **yes** (season break, paused small group, course between intakes), use hibernation. - If **no** (last year’s event roster, a class that has fully finished), use expiry. Each state is set by a date. The group enters the state on that date and reactivates when you clear or move the date forward. The same dates apply to all sub‑groups, so a parent group on break takes its whole tree with it. --- ## Before you start #### Role Permissions Either: - **Administrator** of the group you want to hibernate or expire, or - **Maintain all groups** The bulk Administration controls (further down this article) need an extra permission: - **Update System information** To find a hibernated or expired group via the sidebar filters, you also need **Search any group**. Group Administrators can still reach their own hibernated or expired groups via **My Groups** or the **Show all groups** button on the Groups page. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-MSR3LYSM.png) For an explanation of these and other role permissions, see [People role permissions](/docs/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group#TODO-role-permissions-glossary). --- ## Step 1: Open the group You can find the group by clicking or hovering on **Groups** on the main menu bar on the left, then clicking the group name. If you do not see the group, click **Show all groups** at the top of the list to include hibernated and expired groups. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-DBTYDLT2.png) --- ## Step 2: Open the edit form Click the **Edit** button in the group's details panel. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-B6SKK4EN.png) The form shows every setting for the group, including the **Hibernation date** and **Expiration date** under the **identification** section. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-R97SHG1F.png) --- ## Step 3: Set the hibernation or expiration date The date you save is the day the group switches into hibernation or expiry. Clear the date, or change it to a day after today, to make the group active again. **Click** the date field to open the calendar. Pick a date from the calendar so it saves correctly. Then **click Save**. The group will show as hibernated or expired from the date you chose. - **Set it today** to hibernate or expire the group straight away. - **Pick a future date** to schedule the change. The group stays active until that day. - **Leave it blank** to keep the group active. If the group **is a sub‑group**, you’ll see a note showing the parent group’s date (for example: “Parent group ‘Choir’ hibernates 15‑Mar‑2027…”). This is just a warning. It’s best to keep the sub‑group’s date on or before the parent’s so it pauses at the same time. If the group **has sub‑groups**, saving the date will also update all of them. Any stricter dates already set on the children stay in place until you change the parent’s date again — then all children are updated to match. If you want the children to keep their own dates, set the parent’s date last. --- ## Step 4: Confirm the change in the Groups list Open the Groups page. The full list excludes hibernated and expired groups by default. To see them: - Click **Show all groups** at the top of the Groups page to bring back the full list including hibernated and expired groups in one view. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-YB7Y8QUQ.png) - In the left sidebar under **Groups**, click **Hibernated** to see only hibernated groups. Their names appear faded. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-MSYYRJEP.png) - In the same sidebar, click **Expired** to see only expired groups. Their names appear with a strike-through. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-GJQQQESH.png) The sidebar **Hibernated** and **Expired** items only appear if you have the **Search any group** permission. Group Administrators without that permission can still reach their own hibernated or expired groups via the **Show all groups** button or via **My Groups**. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-RIDLCII5.png) --- ## Reactivate a group To bring a hibernated or expired group back, edit it and clear the date (or move the date past today). 1. Open the group. Use **Show all groups** if the group does not appear in the default list. 2. Click **Edit**. 3. Clear the **Hibernation date**, the **Expiration date**, or both. You can also pick a future date instead of clearing the field, in which case the group is active now and re-enters the state on that future day. 4. Click **Save**. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-R97SHG1F.png) --- ## What happens to members? Members stay attached to the group through hibernation and expiry. Nothing is removed and no workflow fires from the state change itself. - Existing memberships remain on each person's profile. - The group's history (joined dates, left dates, attendance, notes) is preserved. - The group is read-only while hibernated or expired. The **Add members** affordance is hidden until the group is reactivated. - People's individual profiles still show their membership history regardless of the group's state. #### What changes between the two states is where the group still shows up: - **Reports.** Active-only reports hide both hibernated and expired groups by default. The report builder has an **Include hibernated groups** criterion that brings hibernated groups back into the result; expired groups stay out. Reports built on explicit "Currently Hibernated", "Currently Expired", or "Currently Hibernated or Expired" status filters can also include them deliberately. - **Contact-list sends** (email, text, document). Hibernated groups stay available as a target. Expired groups drop out of the contact-list pick-lists until reactivated. - **Rules and workflows** that already reference the group keep working. The state change itself does not trigger anything. --- ## Bulk hibernate or expire from Administration The bulk control acts on every group on the site. Use it only when you want a site-wide change, and check with the rest of your administrators first. This screen needs the **Update System information** permission. Group Administrators who don't hold it will not be able to open it. For sites that need to pause everything in one go, the Administration area has a bulk control. This is useful when, for example, a site is rolling over a season and wants every group hibernated until the new term starts. You can find this by going to **Administration > Groups**. Click the administration cog in the top right hand corner to open the Administration area, then click **Group Sync**. ![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/d198920d-a212-4177-85f9-e1abc92e7ab3/Images/Documentation/image-TQAC5WOH.png) The bulk controls offer three actions for each date. The on-screen labels are: - **No Change** leaves the date alone. - **To Yesterday - so all groups are hibernated** (or **... so all groups are expired**) sets the date to yesterday, hibernating or expiring every group immediately. - **Remove the hibernation date so all groups are active** (or the matching expiry option) clears the date on every group, reactivating them. --- Related pages - [Adding a Group](/docs/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group#TODO-adding-a-group) - [Deleting a Group](/docs/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group#TODO-deleting-a-group) - [Subgroups](/docs/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group#TODO-subgroups) - [Reporting a Group's Details](/docs/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group#TODO-reporting-a-groups-details) - [People role permissions](/docs/hibernating-and-expiring-a-group#TODO-role-permissions-glossary)