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Form archiving moves completed forms into an Archive folder in the forms list. This keeps the number of active forms under the SharePoint list view threshold of 5,000 items, so your views keep working as the list grows. This article explains how views work with the Archive folder, how to give users access to archived forms, and what changes for a form once it is archived. For general guidance on views, filters, and indexed columns, see Views.
  1. Add a link to the Archive folder in your site navigation. See Add an archive link to the navigation.
  2. If users also need to see the Archive folder in the forms list, add the folder condition to your filtered views. See Keep the Archive folder visible in filtered views.
  3. If your archive has, or will have, more than 5,000 forms, set up views that use an indexed column. See Views for a large archive.
If your archive has fewer than 5,000 forms, steps 1 and 2 are enough, and the same views work everywhere in the list.

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How views work in the archive

Views belong to the forms list, not to a folder. The Archive folder is part of the forms list, so the same views are available at the top level of the list and inside the Archive folder. There is no separate set of views for the archive: you open the archive, then choose a view. A view’s filter applies to whichever level you are looking at:
  • At the top level, the filter applies to your active forms and to the Archive folder itself.
  • Inside the Archive folder, the same filter applies to the archived forms.
Folders are filtered in the same way as forms. If the Archive folder does not match a view’s filter, it is hidden from that view. The Archive folder is created by the FlowForma app, not by a user, so a filter such as Created By is equal to [Me] hides it. This affects the default FlowForma views: At the top level, the Archive folder counts as one item, however many forms it contains. So views at the top level stay under the list view threshold while your active forms do. The simplest way to give users access to archived forms is a link in the left-hand navigation of your FlowForma site. The link opens the Archive folder directly, whatever filters your views use.
1

Edit the navigation

On your FlowForma site, select Edit at the bottom of the left-hand navigation. You need at least the Manage Lists permission to edit the navigation.
2

Add the link

Hover where you want the link, select +, then select Link. Enter the address of the Archive folder:
To open the archive in a specific view, use the view’s address and add the folder as an id parameter:
3

Save the navigation

Enter a display name, such as Archived forms, select OK, then Save.
On a classic site, select Edit links on the Quick Launch, then + link. See Microsoft’s guide to customizing the navigation on your SharePoint site.
Most forms lists end up with filtered views, which hide the Archive folder from the list itself. If users also need to see the Archive folder in the forms list, add the folder condition to your views. See Keep the Archive folder visible in filtered views.

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Keep the Archive folder visible in filtered views

To show the Archive folder in a filtered view, add a condition that always matches folders.
1

Open the view settings

Open the forms list and select the view you want to change. Select View options, then Edit current view. The filters pane cannot do this, because it cannot combine conditions on different columns with Or.
2

Add your filter conditions

Under Filter, select Show items only when the following is true and add the conditions for your view.
3

Add the folder condition last

After your last condition, select Or and add Content Type is equal to Folder.
4

Save the view

Select OK. The Archive folder now appears in the view.
For example, a view that shows your approved forms and the Archive folder: The folder condition must be last. SharePoint groups filter conditions from top to bottom, with no brackets. If the folder condition comes first, the Archive folder also has to match every condition after it, so it stays hidden. On sites in other languages, use the translated names, for example [Ich] and Ordner in German.
Views with the folder condition in a large archiveSharePoint cannot use a column index for a filter that contains Or, so it checks every item in the folder you are viewing. At the top level this is fine, because archiving keeps your active forms under 5,000. Inside an Archive folder with more than 5,000 forms, a view with the folder condition can be blocked by the list view threshold.If your archive has more than 5,000 forms, also set up views for browsing the archive. See Views for a large archive.

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Views for a large archive

The Archive folder keeps growing as forms are archived. When it contains more than 5,000 forms, a view inside the folder only works reliably if the first condition in its filter uses an indexed column, returns fewer than 5,000 forms, and the filter does not use Or.
  • Flow Title is already indexed, and works well when each flow has fewer than 5,000 archived forms.
  • For other filters, publish a text question, such as a department or region, and index the column. See Indexed columns.
  • Completed is indexed, but every archived form is completed, so it does not narrow the results.
  • Created By is a Person column. Filters on Person columns can still be blocked in a large archive, even when the column is indexed, so do not rely on Forms created by me to browse a large archive.
Create these views without the folder condition. To make them easy to reach, link to the archive in one of these views from the navigation. See Add an archive link to the navigation. To find a specific archived form, use the search box in the forms list. Search covers the Archive folder and is not affected by the list view threshold.

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What changes when a form is archived

  • Links still work: links to a form, such as those in notification emails, use the form’s ID. The ID does not change when the form is archived, so the links still open it.
  • Permissions do not change: the Archive folder has the same permissions as the forms list, so anyone who could see a form before it was archived can still see it.
  • The form is completed: an archived form opens in the same way as any completed form. If reopening forms is enabled, administrators can still reopen it.
  • FlowForma screens show active forms only: archived forms do not appear in the homepage tiles, My work, the mobile app, FlowForma Collaborate queues, or the child forms list on a parent form.
  • Reporting: Process Performance always includes archived forms. SQL reporting only includes them if Include Archive is selected on the connection.
If an archived form is reopened, it becomes active again but stays in the Archive folder. It does not appear in My work, the homepage tiles, or the mobile app, so users need to open it from the archive or from a link.

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Troubleshooting

The view’s filter hides the folder. Add Content Type is equal to Folder as the last condition, or use a navigation link to the archive. See Keep the Archive folder visible in filtered views.
The archive has more than 5,000 forms, and the view’s filter cannot use an index. Switch to a view whose first condition is an indexed column, with no Or. See Views for a large archive.
The form was reopened from the archive and is still in the Archive folder. Open it from the archive or from a link to the form.
SharePoint search takes a few minutes to pick up changes. If the form is still missing, see the search troubleshooting on Views.