With the Archive Records feature, Records can be marked as Archived, ensuring they are still available yet are hidden from view from most users. This makes it quicker and easier to load and locate relevant records in a database.
This option is available to users with Admin permission on Databases Records, allowing them to Archive records either one-by-one, or in bulk.
This will add an 'Archived' status to these records and hide them from view for all users by default. Once hidden, they will be excluded from search results, creating an easy way to continue using a database to manage current data while hiding older records that are not needed as regularly.
Users can however update their filters to view Archive records at any time, and records can be unarchived if need be.
This article contains an overview of the entire Archive Records feature. To jump to a specific section, click on one of the headings below.
- Enabling Archive Records
- Archiving Records
- Unarchiving Records
- Archived Record rules
- Filtering by Archived Records
- Archive Indicators
- Archived records in other Modules
Enabling Archive Records
The Archive Records feature can be enabled on each individual Database.
To enable this feature on your Database, follow the steps below.
- Open the Database and click Database Settings option highlighted below
- Scroll down to the setting called Enable Archive Records. (Note that this setting may have a different name based on the Custom Name set on the Database.)
To activate this setting for all users, click the Enable Archive Records checkbox.
- Save your Database settings to apply the feature to the Database.
Note that once an Archived record exists, this setting cannot be disabled. To do so, Unarchive (or delete) all Archived records. The setting will then again be able to be disabled to remove this option from the database.
Archiving Records
Once enabled for that Database, users with Admin level of permissions over the Records in the Database (as well as platform Main Admins) will have the ability to select records to be Archived.
This can be done for a single Record by selecting 'Archive' from the action menu when on the Records Home list page (the page that lists all records for that database):
It can also be done via the Bulk Actions Menu, for up to 150 Records at a time:
As shown above, depending on the Filters you have enabled, the Archived records may disappear from view after a successful Archive action. Note that these have not been deleted or removed from your Database, but may be hidden and be able to be re-viewed by users by enabling it in their Filter. Read more about Filters in that section below.
Note that Draft records cannot be set to Archived. They need to be first saved/published to remove the Draft status and then will be able to be successfully Archived.
Unarchiving Records
Archived records can be Unarchived at any time, by relevant users who have Admin level of permissions over the Records in the Database (as well as platform Main Admins).
Records can be unarchived one-by-one as needed, or in bulk (up to 150 at a time). This can only be done in the Records home page, and users will first need to enable their Archive Filter to see the archived records before they can select to unarchive them.
Archived Records rules
- As mentioned above, Draft records are excluded from being able to be Archived while they remain in Draft state.
- All other actions remain in place for Archived records, such as:
- Archived records can still be edited (by users with relevant permissions)
- When edited, they can potentially be sent or re-sent for approval (when that is enabled)
- Archived records can be deleted (which will remove them from platform entirely)
- Feedback workflow requests can be made against Archived records
- File approval requests can be made from files within Archived records
- Archived records can still be edited (by users with relevant permissions)
- Even when hidden from view, Archive records can potentially be accessed by a variety of other ways, such as from direct links from emails, Workflow Request List, etc.
Filtering by Archived Records
Once the Archive Records feature is enabled in your Database Settings, each user who can access the Database can choose to Filter by the Submission Status of a Record, ie whether it's in Archived Status, Draft status, or other.
Archived records are disabled by default from displaying so for users to see or search for them, they will have to enable this filter first. When not displayed, Archived records will be excluded from search results.
Note that these options are only available on a Database Level and will not appear if you are searching the entire Databases area. (Archived records will not be included in results when all databases are searched).
Filtering on Single Databases
On Single Databases, open your Filtering Options Side Panel. The first field available will be 'Record Submission Status'. This refers to whether your Record is Published, has been Saved as a Draft (when this is enabled) or is an Archived Record.
You can use these checkbox options to add Archived records back into your view. The results will be automatically reflected on the page.
Filtering on Staged Databases
On a Staged Database, open your Filtering Options Side Panel. The first field available will be 'Record Current Stage Submission Status'. This generally refers to the Submission Status of your current Stage, ie where the Record is up too (Stage 1, Stage 2, etc). The filtering options included here allow you to filter your Records by:
- Not Started / Completed: This refers to Stages which have not been started (ie the Continue action is available but the records are not in Draft) or Records which have been Completed (so all Stages have been published). It will not display Archived records.
- Pending Approval: This option allows you to filter out those Records which currently have a Stage pending approval. This is only available as an option when a Publish Approval has been enabled on the Database.
- If an Archived record is also Pending Approval, Archived status will override Pending in this filter - so these records will only display if the Archived filter setting below is enabled.
- Draft: This will filter your Records to either Display or hide those Records where the Current Stage is in Draft Status. This will only display when Drafts are enabled for this database.
- Archived: This will filter your records to either Display or hide Records with the 'Archived Status.
See below for an example of enabling a filter to see your Archived records:
Archive Indicators
Once a Record has been Archived, users will be able to see this confirmed in the below locations:
- An 'Archived' indicator will be added to the records as they appear in all views within the Records Home, either displaying as 'Archived' or a shortened 'Ar' indicator (depending on the Records list layout options, ie List, Cards, Kanban and Calendar views.)
- If users click into an Archived record, or access a direct link to one, they will see an indicator chip in the top left of the View or Update record page.
- As well as the indicators on the Records home and View/Update pages, they will also appear on Record Lookup dropdown and Grids, in Download PDF, and in Export Database (for General Use).
Tracking your Archived Records in Other Modules
In addition to Filtering within your Databases, you can also use the same Filtering Options in Dashboards and Stats; allowing to you include or exclude Archived Records in your reporting.
Note that Archived records will always show here by default, unless a condition has been configured to exclude them from results.
If you want to exclude Archived records from these results, when creating or editing your Widget or Stats report, select Record Submission Status or Record Current Stage Submission Status as the Filtering Condition, as demonstrated below:
If not excluded, Archived records will display in Dashboard results with the Archived indicator visible. 
In Stats, there will also be a column indicating whether the record is in Archived or not.
When Archived records have previously been part of an Approval process (or a new Feedback or Publish Workflow request is made for an Archived record), they will display as such in the Workflow Request List (aka your Approvals Centre).
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You can read more about your Databases module here.
Please note that the 'Database' and 'Records' terminology referenced above may appear differently in your platform as these are customisable terms.
If you have any further questions about Archived Records, please contact your Customer Success Manager.
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