---
schema_version: "1"
id: f59f6ee584bcec4c2126a55c9f3529b0d51144ff7fb3fae5307e66e0af9438d5
title: Archive Search
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/archive_o_archive_search.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.archive_o_archive_search.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 450e776fa3295e64c5c480eea8d947bca0119c19fa0229ae747d7643664eb78d
description: Search for and view the records you've archived in the Archive managed package. Archive Search doesn't enforce role hierarchy, sharing, or visibility rules, so limit access to admins. Standard users use the Archive Widget.
products:
  - Security
  - Salesforce Platform
release: "264"
---
# Archive Search

Search for and view the records you've archived in the Archive managed package. Archive Search doesn't enforce role hierarchy, sharing, or visibility rules, so limit access to admins. Standard users use the Archive Widget.

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-own_from_salesforce-264-0-0-production-enus/8ac98673-ede2-4046-a41e-2d5c846f24ff/images/icon_note.png)

Note This content relates to Archive. For Salesforce Archive, see [Store Data Externally with Salesforce Archive](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.archive_overview.htm&type=5&language=en_US).

Before you use Archive Search, keep these points in mind.

- The Archive Policy permission set automatically grants access to Archive Search.
- Users with Archive Search access can view all records. Limit this permission to admins.
- Archive Search provides read access to the entire archive.
- Archive Search doesn't enforce role hierarchy, sharing, or visibility rules. Standard users use the [Archive Widget](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.archive_o_manage_archive_widget_controls_layout.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Enables Archive managed package administrators to centrally manage the display and configuration of objects within widgets, enhancing user visibility and interaction. This functionality allows for defining both root and child objects that end users can query. Additionally, the layout provides insights into parent-child object relationships via the \"Is Root\" identifier."), which enforces these rules.

- **[Archive Search FAQs](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.archive_o_archive_search.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Frequently Asked Questions related to Archive Search in the Archive managed package.

## Use Archive Search

1. Go to the Archive Search tab.
2. Enter your search criteria.
    
    - To search a specific field, select an object and a field from the dropdown list.
    - To search all indexed fields, enter an ID or text string in **Term**.
    
    ![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-own_from_salesforce-264-0-0-production-enus/8ac98673-ede2-4046-a41e-2d5c846f24ff/images/icon_note.png)
    
    Note To avoid an error message, enter a term for a specific field.
3. Optionally, to specify the date range, select a value from the dropdown list.
    
    <table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
                <colgroup>
                  <col>
                  <col>
                </colgroup>
                <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
                  <tr class="">
                    <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d39157e137">Value</th>
                    <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d39157e140">Description</th>
                  </tr>
                </thead>
                <tbody>
                  <tr class="">
                    <td data-label="Value" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e137 "><strong class="uicontrol">Adjust Date Range</strong></td>

                    <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e140 ">
                      <p>Adjust the default date range.
                        Valid values include: </p>
                      <ul>
                        <li><strong class="uicontrol">Created Date</strong>: Time and date
                          when the record was created.</li>

                        <li><strong class="uicontrol">Last Modified Date</strong>: Time and
                          date when the record was last updated.</li>

                        <li><strong class="uicontrol">Own Archive Date</strong>: Time and
                          date when the record was archived.</li>

                      </ul>
                    </td>

                  </tr>
                </tbody>
              </table>
    
    The default **To Date** is the current day, and the default **From Date** is one week ago.
4. To begin the search, go back to **Term** and press Enter.
    
    Archive Search shows results based on your Salesforce global search settings.
    
    ![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-own_from_salesforce-264-0-0-production-enus/8ac98673-ede2-4046-a41e-2d5c846f24ff/images/icon_note.png)
    
    Note The number of results is an approximation. To see the exact count, select **Show more results** at the end of the list.

## Search Limitations

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
            <colgroup>
              <col>
              <col>
            </colgroup>
            <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
              <tr class="">
                <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d39157e232">Limitation</th>
                <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d39157e235">Description</th>
              </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Boolean Operators</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Boolean operators such as <code>AND</code> or <code>OR</code>
                  aren't supported. A result appears only when both values in the
                  search match.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Case Sensitivity</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Search isn't case-sensitive, except for field-level searches that end in an asterisk (<code>*</code>). For most of those searches, enter the term in lowercase.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Email Addresses</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Search matches only the whole email address.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Excluded Objects</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Archive Search excludes some objects by default. They
                  don't appear as searchable options, even when their records are
                  archived. For example, <code>LiveChatTranscriptEvent</code>
                  isn't searchable.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Filtered Objects</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">
                  <p>Objects with these suffixes aren't searchable: </p>
                  <ul>
                    <li><code>Feed</code></li>

                    <li><code>History</code></li>

                    <li><code>Relation</code></li>

                    <li><code>Role</code></li>

                    <li><code>Share</code></li>

                  </ul>
                </td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Fuzzy Searches</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">For how fuzzy searches work, see <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.archive_o_archive_search.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5">Fuzzy Searches</a>.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Indexed Fields</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Only indexed fields are searchable. Non-indexed fields appear
                  in <span class="menucascade"><strong class="uicontrol">Archive Settings</strong> | <strong class="uicontrol">Search</strong> | <strong class="uicontrol">Archive Search Layout</strong></span>,
                  marked with an asterisk in the Available Fields list.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Record Retrieval</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">To find a record, search for its 18-character
                  Salesforce ID.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Related Records</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">View up to 200 related records. To view
                  all related records, search by the root record in the
                  Search filter. Related records appear in the order in which they
                  were archived, not in a preset order or the order set by the root
                  record's page layout.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Search Result Memory Limit</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">As the Archive Search widget formats result rows, it monitors the total memory used
                  by the Apex transaction and stops if usage exceeds 95% of the available heap, approximately
                  9.5 MB. This shared limit applies across all returned rows, selected fields, and processing
                  overhead. It doesn't apply to individual fields or response size. Large fields such as
                  <code>EmailMessage.HtmlBody</code> consume more memory and can reduce the number of results
                  returned. To optimize results, select only the fields you need and avoid large text fields when
                  possible.
                </td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Regular Expressions</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Searches such as <code>ab*c</code> aren't
                  supported.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Subset Search</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">Searching for a subset of a word or term isn't supported. The
                  Contains function isn't available.</td>

              </tr>
              <tr class="">
                <td data-label="Limitation" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e232 ">Time Zone</td>

                <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d39157e235 ">The <code>Lightning-formatted-date-time</code> is based on your system's
                  time zone.</td>

              </tr>
            </tbody>
          </table>

For more information on indexing, see [Manage Indexed Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.archive_o_manage_index_fields.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Efficient management of index fields in the Archive managed package is essential for optimizing search and query performance. The Index Fields Setup feature shows admins which fields are indexable so that they can manually select fields to improve search performance. While Archive automatically indexes certain fields based on internal algorithms, some fields can't be indexed at all, and you configure others manually.").

## Fuzzy Searches

Archive splits each text value into separate searchable pieces, called tokens, and stores them in lowercase. When you search with an asterisk (`*`) at the end of a term, Archive removes the asterisk and looks for tokens that match within two character edits of what you typed.

Archive splits at spaces, hyphens, and most punctuation. It keeps letters and digits together and keeps underscores and periods inside a token.

- `R-0001` becomes `r` and `0001`.
- `INV-2024-0042` becomes `inv`, `2024`, and `0042`.
- `Acme Corp` and `Acme-Corp` both become `acme` and `corp`.
- `ABC123` stays one token: `abc123`. So does `CASE00012345`.
- `abc_123` stays one token: `abc_123`.
- `john.smith@example.com` becomes `john.smith` and `example.com`.
- Archive splits text in languages written without spaces, such as 東京支店, into single characters.

For most fields, a search ending in `*` isn't a "starts with" search. Archive compares your term against each token individually. An edit is one added, removed, or changed character. In field-level searches, uppercase counts as an edit because tokens are lowercase.

- `2024*` finds `INV-2024-0042`, because `2024` is one of its tokens.
- `acm*` finds `Acme`, because `acm` is one edit away from `acme`.
- `INV*` finds nothing, because `INV` is three edits away from the token `inv`.
- `INV-2024*` finds nothing, because Archive compares `INV-2024` separately against each token, and none match within two edits.
- `corp*` doesn't find `Acme Corporation`, because `corporation` is seven edits from `corp`.
- `acme*` also finds `Acne Group`, because `acme` is one edit away from `acne`.
- For most fields, `*` on its own finds nothing.

To get relevant results, use one of these approaches.

- Search for the exact value, such as `INV-2024-0042`.
- Search for a single token, such as `2024`.
- Narrow your search.

These ID fields require an exact match and don't support fuzzy search:

- `AccountId`
- `ActivityId`
- `CaseId`
- `ContactId`
- `CreatedById`
- `Id`
- `LastModifiedById`
- `LeadId`
- `OwnerId`
- `ParentId`
- `policy_id`
- `RelatedToId`
- `WhatId`
- `WhoId`

## Archive Search FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions related to Archive Search in the Archive managed package.

Q. Why can't I see the Archive Search tab?

A. Make sure that you have Archive Search permission set on your org.

Q. How can I improve my Search?

A. Try these methods.

- Locate the record ID and search for it.
- Search for the owner ID of the record, rather than the Owner display name, which is not searchable.
- If you still can't find what you're looking for, please contact Support and provide these details.
    - Search term(s)
    - What you were expecting to see (sObject type, number of records, or missing child/root records).
    - When you think the result was archived (audit file/request ID, if available)

Q. I can't find a particular record in Archive. What could be the problem?

A. It can take up to two hours to see archived data in the Archive Search Results due to a sync process between the Archive DB and the search engine.

Q. Are any sObjects not searchable?

A. These sObjects aren't searchable: Relation, History, Share, Feed.

Q. Can I search within an Email Message?

A. You can search for the email subject or sender name, but searching for the email content isn't supported.