"OJS 3.5 – Error deleting incomplete submissions: 'The requested resource was not found'"

[Marielba_Hernandez_1]

Describe the issue or problem

When I try to delete incomplete submissions using the “Delete incomplete submissions” option in the editor dashboard, I receive an error message:
“The requested resource was not found”

I expected the submission to be removed from the list, but it stays visible. If I try again, I get the same error. This seems to happen intermittently — sometimes the deletion works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Steps I took leading up to the issue

1. Go to the Dashboard as an Editor

2. Navigate to Submissions → Active

3. Filter by status: Incomplete

4. Select a submission

5. Click the dropdown menu and choose Delete incomplete submission

6. Confirm the deletion

7. See error: “The requested resource was not found”

The submission remains in the list and cannot be deleted.

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What application are you using?

Open Journal Systems (OJS) 3.5.0.0

• Installed: June 25, 2025

• OS: Linux

• PHP: 8.3.22

• Apache

• Database: MariaDB 10.6.22

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Additional information

• I have attached screenshots of the error message and server info.

• This issue might be related to submissions being orphaned or partially deleted.

Screenshots

Has anyone else experienced this issue?
Any guidance or workaround would be appreciated.
Let me know if I can provide logs or database info to help troubleshoot.

Thank you in advance!

[rcgillis]

Hi @Marielba_Hernandez_1,

Do you have access to your PHP error logs and can report on error messages found there - that may help pinpoint the issue.

-Roger

PKP Team

[Marielba_Hernandez_1]

Hi Roger,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I do have access to the PHP error logs, and I’ve already checked them — there are no related error messages at the time the issue occurs.

The only indication of the problem is a 404 (Not Found) in the browser console, when attempting to delete an incomplete submission. The request URL looks like this:

/index.php/opinionpublica/submissions/6288?ids%5B%5D=630

If there’s anything else I should check or log to help troubleshoot this, I’d be happy to do so.

Best regards,

[rcgillis]

Hi @Marielba_Hernandez_1,

Thanks for the follow-up. Not sure exactly what is going on, but of our team/community members may be able to assist.

-Roger

PKP Team

[mohd_arshad]

i also encounter this error.

i think for submission that is incomplete but has author attach to it you can delete it. but if the submission got no author attach to it, it cannot be deleted and this error occurred.

Maybe dev can look a bit into this..

[jascanio]

Hi

Same here. Upgraded from 3.3.0.10 to 3.5.0.2

There is an option to batch-delete incomplete submissions, but I get the same error.

Any help will be appreciated.

Regards,

Juan

[lcmartinezru]

I have the same problem. I can’t delete incomplete submissions if I’m not the author.

But users associated with the submissions also can’t see them as authors.
OJS version 3.5.0.3

Error in console:
POST https://revista.clad.org/ryd//api/v1/_submissions?ids[]=328&ids[]=318&ids[]=317&ids[]=321&ids[]=290&ids[]=261&ids[]=259 404 (Not Found)

[dnaite]

Hello everyone, I encountered the same issue in OJS 3.5.0-3. After investigating, it appears that the problem occurs when a Journal Manager or Site Admin account also has the Author role. Below are two possible solutions.

1. Remove the Author role from the Journal Manager / Site Admin account

If a Journal Manager or Site Admin account also has the Author role, incomplete submissions cannot be deleted. Once the Author role is removed, the incomplete submissions can be deleted without any issue.
The Author role can be removed from Settings → Users & Roles as usual.

2. Modify the backend code so Journal Manager / Site Admin with the Author role can still delete incomplete submissions

Open the following file:

ojs/lib/pkp/api/v1/_submissions/PKPBackendSubmissionsController.php

Go to line 474, and locate the following code:

if ($user->hasRole([Role::ROLE_ID_AUTHOR], $context->getId())) {

Change it to:

if (!$this->canAccessAllSubmissions() && $user->hasRole([Role::ROLE_ID_AUTHOR], $context->getId())) {

Adding !$this->canAccessAllSubmissions() ensures that if the user has the Journal Manager or Site Admin role, the assignedTo filter will not be applied.

This change is only a temporary workaround. Hopefully, PKP will provide a permanent fix in a future update.