---
url: /process-functions/hierarchy-removechild.md
description: Removes an element from under one parent in a hierarchy.
---

# hierarchy.removeChild

Removes an element from under one parent in a hierarchy.

What happens to the child depends on where else it sits:

* **Under other parents too:** it's only removed from the parent you name, and stays under the others.
* **A leaf with no other parent:** it leaves the hierarchy. If it isn't in any other hierarchy, it becomes an orphan.
* **A parent with no other parent:** it's left detached, with its children still under it. A detached parent isn't saved, so it and any parents below it are lost when the dimension is next loaded from disk, for example after a server restart, and the leaves below it become orphans.

::: tip Removing a parent
This function is meant for leaf elements. To remove a parent from a hierarchy, use [hierarchy.unwind](/process-functions/hierarchy-unwind), which removes it and everything below it.
:::

The child must be directly under that parent. Elements at the top level of a hierarchy can't be removed this way; use [hierarchy.unwind](/process-functions/hierarchy-unwind) for those. To remove a leaf element from the dimension altogether, including from every hierarchy, use [element.delete](/process-functions/element-delete).

[hierarchy.ungroup](/process-functions/hierarchy-ungroup) does exactly the same, but returns an error message instead of `false` when it fails.

```js
hierarchy.removeChild(dimension, hierarchy, parent, child)
```

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `dimension` | `string` | The dimension's name. |
| `hierarchy` | `string` | The hierarchy's name. |
| `parent` | `string` | The parent element's name. |
| `child` | `string` | The child element's name. |

## Returns

`true` when the child was removed, otherwise `false`, such as when the dimension, hierarchy, parent or child can't be found, or the child isn't directly under that parent.

## Examples

```js
hierarchy.removeChild("Account", "Profit and Loss", "Revenue", "Other Sales");
```