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Unarchive from Archive Search or the Archive Component
Restore archived records with Archive Search or the Archive component in the Archive app.
To preserve original audit trail data such as CreatedBy,
CreatedDate, ModifiedBy, and ModifiedDate on
restored records, assign the Set Audit Fields upon Record Creation permission to the Integration
User.
Important Considerations
- When you unarchive a root record, any related child record is also unarchived automatically.
- Related records that were archived independently can only be unarchived if their root record is unarchived first.
- Unarchived records are assigned new IDs upon reinsertion.
- You can unarchive up to 1,000 records at once from Archive Search results when results contain a single object type.
- You can access logs detailing the unarchiving process in the Activities tab.
Records with related references require special handling during unarchiving. For more information, see Manage Related Records During Unarchive.
- Manage Related Records During Unarchive
When you unarchive a record, the Archive app deletes it from the archive database and unarchives it to your org. The Manage Related Records setting verifies data integrity during the unarchive process. Whether you want to bypass dependencies, remove reference links, or fully restore relationships, this setting provides the tools to do so safely and efficiently. - Retry Unarchive
If an unarchive operation fails in the Archive app, retry the unarchive operation for records that failed during the original attempt. The Retry Unarchive feature reruns the unarchive process with the same or adjusted settings. - Preserve the Original Case Number When Unarchiving
When a record is created in an org, a Case Number is generated automatically on the Case Object. When an archived record is restored to an org in the Archive app, the record is assigned a new Case Number. Here's how to preserve the original record Case Number by using a new field. - Unarchive Oversized EmailMessages
In the Archive app, the EmailMessage HTML Body field stores the rich-text content of email messages in Salesforce, capturing formatted text, images, and embedded elements so that emails appear as they were originally sent. When an email's HTML body exceeds the maximum 131 KB size limit, Salesforce truncates the viewable content to fit within this limit. - Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived
To unarchive a child record in the Archive app, turn on the Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived feature. If you unarchive a child record before its root record is unarchived, the root-child relationship is broken, and the restored child record is orphaned. - Exclude Records with External References When Archiving
To avoid data recovery issues when unarchiving in the Archive app, skip archiving records that have links to files or systems outside Salesforce.
Unarchive from Archive Search
Archive Search provides read access to the entire archive.
- Search for the archived root record you want to unarchive in Archive Search.
- Click the arrow next to the root record and select Unarchive.
- Go to the Activities tab.
- To access the Execution Details log, click the name of the activity, or select the log from the dropdown list.
Unarchive Up to 1,000 Records at Once from Archive Search
Unarchive multiple archived records at once instead of unarchiving them individually.
- Search for archived records in Archive Search.
-
Make sure that your search results show a single object and 1,000 records or fewer.
Note Bulk unarchive is only available when search results contain records from one object type and the total count is 1,000 or fewer.
- Select the gear icon, then select Unarchive Search Results.
- Go to the Activities tab to monitor the unarchive process.
Unarchive from the Archive Component
- To find the archived root record you want to unarchive, go to the Related tab in the Archive component.
- Select the record from the dropdown list.
- Click the arrow next to the root record and select Unarchive.
See Also
Manage Related Records During Unarchive
When you unarchive a record, the Archive app deletes it from the archive database and unarchives it to your org. The Manage Related Records setting verifies data integrity during the unarchive process. Whether you want to bypass dependencies, remove reference links, or fully restore relationships, this setting provides the tools to do so safely and efficiently.
These actions affect the unarchive process.
- Schema changes to the object's current fields in Salesforce, and whether the unarchived record's fields match.
- Lookup relationships to other archived records.
The Manage Related Records setting is critical only when an unarchived record has a lookup relationship to another record still in the archive. If the related record is live in your org, this setting doesn't apply. The lookup relationship is preserved automatically.
CreatedBy,
CreatedDate, ModifiedBy, and
ModifiedDate on unarchived records, assign the Set Audit Fields
upon Record Creation permission to the Integration User. Archive restores the
original audit field values automatically after unarchiving.Important Considerations
- The unarchive process is subject to your object's current schema in Salesforce.
- If you add a new mandatory field to an object after its related child records are archived, the unarchive process for those records fails. Because the archived records have no value for the new mandatory field, Archive can't reinsert them.
- If you delete a field from an object after its related child records are archived, the data from that field isn't restored during the unarchive process.
- The Manage Related Records setting applies to lookup relationships, often between two root records. The setting doesn't apply to root-child relationships, such as a Case and its Comments, archived together as one document. When you unarchive a root object, the related child records archived with it are unarchived with it.
Manage Related Records Options
Select one of these options to manage relationships between archived records.
- Ignore Related References: This default setting prioritizes the specific records
you selected.This option unarchives only the requested root record and the
directly related child records archived with it.
This option makes sure that the unarchiving process doesn't alter any related references between records. If a record you're unarchiving has related references to other archived records, the unarchive action fails. This result maintains the integrity of dependent relationships, and prevents the creation of orphaned records with broken relationship links.
This option is the default setting for Manage Related Records.
Note Related references include all relationships, not only master-detail relationships. - Nullify Related Reference Links: This option prioritizes unarchiving the record
over restoring its relationships. Unarchiving a record removes any references to
other records that aren't part of the unarchive process. For example, if the
lookup field on an object is associated with an archived record, Archive sets
the lookup field value to
nullbefore reinserting the record into your org.Note The nullify action is subject to your object's schema. If the lookup field is a required field that can't be nullified, such as a master-detail relationship or universally required lookup, the unarchive job fails.This option is useful to restore a record without re-establishing its original hierarchical or dependency relationships.
- Unarchive with Related References: This option unarchives the root record and
all the archived records that it references, even if you archived these records
in separate operations. When complete, the unarchive job reinserts the entire
chain of related records in your org, thus preserving all relationships and
dependencies. Note This option automatically unarchives a chain of up to 100 related records per root record in the unarchive job. The operation fails if the chain exceeds 100 records.
This option is useful for unarchiving chains of related records, such as an email and its replies.
Note To unarchive EmailMessages with attachments like ContentDocuments, first turn on the Email Drafts setting in your org.
Retry Unarchive
If an unarchive operation fails in the Archive app, retry the unarchive operation for records that failed during the original attempt. The Retry Unarchive feature reruns the unarchive process with the same or adjusted settings.
To turn on the Retry Unarchive feature:
- Go to the Activities tab.
- To identify which records failed to unarchive, download and review the Failed Records Log.
-
Select Retry Unarchive.
This feature becomes available when an Unarchive activity fails.
- Optionally, to override the default settings temporarily, select a different Manage Related Records setting. You can also keep the same settings as the original attempt.
Preserve the Original Case Number When Unarchiving
When a record is created in an org, a Case Number is generated automatically on the Case Object. When an archived record is restored to an org in the Archive app, the record is assigned a new Case Number. Here's how to preserve the original record Case Number by using a new field.
- Go to Unarchive under Archive Settings.
- Select Preserve Original Case Number.
- Open the Case Object associated with the original Case Number that you want to preserve.
- Click the Settings icon.
- Select Edit Object.
- Select Case.
- Select Fields & Relationships.
- Click New.
- Select Text.
- Click Next.
-
Enter these details.
- In the Field Label and Field Name, enter
original_number.Note This format is case-sensitive, so be sure that this value is all lowercase. - In the Length field, enter
8, for the default Case Number length.
- In the Field Label and Field Name, enter
- Click Next.
- Save your work.
- Return to the Case.
- Go to the Archive tab.
- Search for the Case ID in the Archive component.
- From the dropdown list, select View.
-
Click Unarchive.
After the Unarchive process is done,
original_numberappears in the Details page.
Unarchive Oversized EmailMessages
In the Archive app, the EmailMessage HTML Body field stores the rich-text content of email messages in Salesforce, capturing formatted text, images, and embedded elements so that emails appear as they were originally sent. When an email's HTML body exceeds the maximum 131 KB size limit, Salesforce truncates the viewable content to fit within this limit.
In contrast, Archive stores emails' full HTML Body content without size limitations, even for oversized messages.
While Archive stores the complete HTML body of all emails without size restrictions, unarchiving an email with an oversized HTML body fails because the Salesforce API restricts the insertion of content that exceeds this configured size limit in the EmailMessage object. Adjusting size settings in Salesforce doesn't resolve this limitation.
Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived
To unarchive a child record in the Archive app, turn on the Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived feature. If you unarchive a child record before its root record is unarchived, the root-child relationship is broken, and the restored child record is orphaned.
Here are several use case scenarios. In these scenarios, Record A is the root record of Record B.
Use Case #1—Success
Root Record A is archived.
Child Record B is archived.
Root Record A is unarchived and, in the unarchive process, receives a new ID, thus becoming Restored Root Record C.
Child Record B can be unarchived.
Archive maintains the relationship of Root Record A to Restored Root Record C. The Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived setting isn't required.
Use Case #2—Failure
Root Record A is archived.
Child Record B is archived.
Child Record B can't be unarchived. The child record can't be unarchived when the root record is still archived.
Use Case #3—Success
Turn on the Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived feature. During the archive process, any root-child relationship between records is broken.
Root Record A is archived.
Child Record B is archived.
Child Record B can be unarchived.
Use Case #4—Failure
Root Record A is archived.
Child Record B is archived.
Root Record A is unarchived and, in the unarchive process, receives a new ID, thus becoming Restored Root Record C.
Restored Root Record C is archived or rearchived.
Child Record B can't be unarchived. The root-child connection was lost when the root record was rearchived.
Even if Root Record C is unarchived and, in the unarchive process, receives a new ID, thus becoming Restored Root Record D, the issue is still unresolved.
Turning on the Enable Unarchive When Parent Archived feature doesn't permit the unarchiving of Child Record B.
Exclude Records with External References When Archiving
To avoid data recovery issues when unarchiving in the Archive app, skip archiving records that have links to files or systems outside Salesforce.
If a record contains a reference to an external file, such as a document stored in Google Drive or on an external server, the archive process faces limitations. Archive can store the record, but it can't access or read the content of the external file. Even more critical, unarchiving a record with external references can lead to issues because Salesforce can't restore the context or access the data of the external file.
To skip archiving these specific records that depend on data managed outside Salesforce, turn on the Exclude Records with External References During Archive setting. When enabled, this feature ensures a smoother and more reliable data recovery process by focusing on records that can be completely and successfully restored within your org.
