Title: Auto Archive for Gravity Forms Author: shaun3180 Published: July 10, 2026 Last modified: July 11, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev =3603560) ![](https://ps.w.org/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev= 3602122) # Auto Archive for Gravity Forms By [shaun3180](https://profiles.wordpress.org/shaun3180/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms.1.3.1.zip) * [Details](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/#description) * [Reviews](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/#reviews) * [Installation](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/#installation) * [Development](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/) ## Description **Auto Archive for Gravity Forms** keeps your entry lists clean by moving older submissions into a dedicated archive instead of deleting them. It is designed for organizations — universities, registration programs, seasonal applications — that run on an annual cycle and want the current cohort front-and-center while last year’s submissions are tucked away but recoverable. Archived entries are flagged and hidden from the default Gravity Forms entries view, but remain safely in the database under a dedicated “Archived” tab, where they can be browsed and restored at any time. Archiving never deletes anything. #### Free features * **Archive & restore individual entries** — an “Archive” link on every entry in the Entries list, and on the entry detail screen. Restore just as easily. * **Dedicated “Archived” view** — a filter tab on the Entries list that shows archived entries, with accurate counts kept out of your active totals. * **Automatic rules on every form** — each form can archive itself on a daily check, with its own rule. A “Run now” button lets you apply a rule on demand. * **Rolling age rule** — “archive entries older than N days/months.” * **Recurring annual cutoff** — archive everything submitted before a set day each year (e.g. Aug 1), ideal for clearing last cycle at the start of a new program year. * **Rule preview** — see how many entries the saved rule would archive today, before you enable it or hit “Run now.” * **Archive audit trail** — every archived entry records who archived it and when: a person’s name for a by-hand archive, or “Automatic (rule: …)” for a rule. Shown on the entry detail screen and in an “Archived” column on the Archived tab. * **One-click undo** — each automatic or “Run now” run is grouped, so the whole batch can be restored in a single click straight from the activity log. * **Activity log** — a running record of what was archived, when, and by which rule, under Forms › Settings › Auto Archive. * **Automation health** — the per-form settings card shows when the next daily check is due, and a Site Health check plus a warning notice flag it if scheduled runs stop firing (common on low-traffic sites where WordPress cron can stall). * **Permanent delete on demand** — archiving itself never deletes, but a confirm- guarded “Delete Permanently” bulk action on the Archived tab lets you clear entries for good when you choose to. Free deletes on request; the Pro add-on exports a backup first (and aborts if the backup fails). #### Pro add-on The optional **Auto Archive for Gravity Forms – Pro** add-on is a separate plugin( available from the developer) that hooks into this one to add: * **Date-field rules** — archive based on a date field on the form itself (e.g. a program end date), not the submission date. * **Conditional rules** — only archive entries matching field values (e.g. “Decision is Declined”). * **Bulk Archive All** — archive every active entry on a form in one click. * **Trash & permanent delete** — go beyond soft archive on a retention schedule, always exporting a backup first. * **CSV / Excel export** — on demand, or automatically before a destructive run. * **Off-site cloud backup** — push a backup to Amazon S3 or Backblaze B2 before deleting. * **Email summaries** — a per-run report with the backup attached. The free plugin is fully functional on its own; nothing on its screens is locked or disabled. ## Screenshots [⌊The Archived tab on the Entries list — archived submissions stay one click away, kept out of your active counts.⌉⌊The Archived tab on the Entries list — archived submissions stay one click away, kept out of your active counts.⌉[ The Archived tab on the Entries list — archived submissions stay one click away, kept out of your active counts. [⌊Per-form Auto Archive settings — set a rolling age rule or a recurring annual cutoff, right from the form's Settings tab.⌉⌊Per-form Auto Archive settings — set a rolling age rule or a recurring annual cutoff, right from the form's Settings tab.⌉[ Per-form Auto Archive settings — set a rolling age rule or a recurring annual cutoff, right from the form’s Settings tab. [⌊Archive audit trail — every entry records who archived it and when, with one-click undo for a whole automatic run.⌉⌊Archive audit trail — every entry records who archived it and when, with one-click undo for a whole automatic run.⌉[ Archive audit trail — every entry records who archived it and when, with one-click undo for a whole automatic run. [⌊Automation health — the next scheduled check and a warning if WP-Cron stalls, so you're never left guessing whether it's working.⌉⌊Automation health — the next scheduled check and a warning if WP-Cron stalls, so you're never left guessing whether it's working.⌉[ Automation health — the next scheduled check and a warning if WP-Cron stalls, so you’re never left guessing whether it’s working. ## Installation 1. Install and activate Gravity Forms. 2. Upload the `auto-archive-for-gravity-forms` folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`, or install through the Plugins screen. 3. Activate the plugin. 4. Archive entries from any form’s **Entries** list using the per-row “Archive” link, or open a form’s **Settings › Auto Archive** tab to set up the automatic age rule. The global activity log lives at **Forms › Settings › Auto Archive**. ## FAQ ### Does archiving delete my entries? No. Archiving flags entries and hides them from the default view. They stay in the database and can be restored at any time from the Archived tab. ### Can I archive more than one form automatically? Yes — every form can have its own automatic rule, free. The Pro add-on adds date- field and conditional rules, retention-based deletion with backups, exports, and more. ### Where did the entries go? Open the form’s **Entries** list and click the **Archived** filter tab to see and restore them. ### The daily check doesn’t seem to run. Why not? Automatic archiving runs on WordPress’s built-in scheduler (WP-Cron), which only fires when someone visits your site. Sites that run on an annual cycle often get very little traffic between programs, so the scheduler can sit idle for days and the daily check never happens. If that occurs, the plugin shows a warning on its settings screens and a **Tools › Site Health** check flags it. The reliable fix is to have your server run WP-Cron on a real schedule instead of relying on visits: 1. Add this line to `wp-config.php` to turn off the visit-triggered scheduler: `define(' DISABLE_WP_CRON', true );` 2. Create a server cron job that requests `wp-cron.php` on a schedule, for example once an hour: `wget -q -O - https://your-site.example/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1` Many managed WordPress hosts offer a “real cron” or “cron job” setting that does this for you — check your host’s documentation or support. You can always apply a rule immediately in the meantime with the **Run now** button on a form’s Auto Archive tab. ### When will automatic archiving run next? The per-form **Auto Archive** tab shows the next scheduled daily check (for example,“ Next daily check: tomorrow at 6:12 am”). All forms share a single daily check. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Auto Archive for Gravity Forms” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ shaun3180 ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/shaun3180/) [Translate “Auto Archive for Gravity Forms” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.3.1 * Fix: on some sites, saving the per-form Auto Archive rule from the Settings tab could silently revert the “Rule type” choice (e.g. switching to “Recurring annual cutoff” and saving would show “Rolling age” again after a refresh), caused by newer versions of Gravity Forms intercepting the save before it reached this plugin. Saving now goes through this plugin’s own request handler directly, so the selected rule type and its fields always persist correctly. * Tweak: the Pro add-on panel now describes retention-based deletion in records- retention terms (FERPA / GDPR / data-minimization), so the optional deletion feature reads as a compliance tool rather than just a space-saver. #### 1.3.0 * New: next-run visibility. The per-form Auto Archive card now shows when the daily check is next due (e.g. “Next daily check: tomorrow at 6:12 am”), so it’s clear at a glance that automation is alive. * New: WP-Cron reliability handling. A lightweight heartbeat records each daily run, so the plugin can tell “cron is firing but nothing was due” apart from “ cron isn’t firing.” If automatic archiving is enabled but the daily check hasn’t run in over 48 hours, a warning notice appears on the plugin’s screens and a Tools › Site Health check flags it, with guidance on setting up a real server cron — the common failure mode on low-traffic annual-program sites. * New: FAQ entries covering why the daily check might not run and how to make it reliable. #### 1.2.0 * New: audit trail for archives. Every archived entry now records who archived it and when — an automatic rule shows as “Automatic (rule: …)”, a by-hand archive shows the acting user. This appears as an “Archived on {date} by {actor}” line on the entry detail page and as an “Archived” column on the Archived tab. Entries archived before this update show “actor not recorded”, and the actor stays readable even if the user account is later deleted. * New: Undo for soft-archive runs. Each automatic or “Run now” archive run is grouped so the whole batch can be restored in one click, straight from the activity log. * New: rule preview on the per-form settings screen — see how many entries the saved rule would archive today, before enabling it or running it. #### 1.1.0 * New: “Delete Permanently” bulk action on the Archived tab, guarded by a confirmation dialog. Before removing anything it fires the gfaa_pre_bulk_delete_archived filter so the Pro add-on can export a backup first (and abort the deletion if that backup fails). Without the add-on the delete proceeds — free deletes on request, Pro adds the backup safety net. * Fix: archived entries that were also trashed or marked as spam could become invisible in every view. The active-view exclusion no longer applies on the Trash and Spam views, so such entries remain visible where they belong. * Security/robustness: notices now distinguish success from error states. #### 1.0.0 * Initial release. * Archive and restore individual entries from the Entries list and the entry detail screen — archiving never deletes anything. * Dedicated “Archived” filter tab, with archived counts kept out of your active totals. * Automatic rules on every form — rolling age (“archive entries older than N days/ months”) or a recurring annual cutoff — on a daily check, plus a “Run now” button to apply them on demand. * Activity log of what was archived, when, and by which rule, under Forms › Settings› Auto Archive. * Contextual Help tab on the Entries screen. * Built to WordPress.org security and coding standards: output escaping, capability checks, and nonce verification throughout. * Pro features ship as a separate add-on plugin; nothing on the free screens is locked or disabled. ## Meta * Version **1.3.1** * Last updated **15 hours ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0.1** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Language * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/) * Tags * [archive](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/archive/)[data retention](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/data-retention/) [form entries](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/form-entries/)[gravity forms](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/gravity-forms/) * [Advanced View](https://zul.wordpress.org/plugins/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ shaun3180 ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/shaun3180/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/auto-archive-for-gravity-forms/)