Documents Activity log
Use the Activity log to investigate document events, including uploads and metadata edits. It identifies the action, time, actor and document reference. It does not restore deleted files or reveal hidden content.
Access needed
Access depends on your assigned permissions and workflow scope.
- Read/filter events, inspect changes or export the current page
audit.readThe Activity log is independent of document-management permissions and is not blocked by the Documents plan feature. Hidden values remain withheld.
Role and permission labels
Typical responsibility: Authorized investigator. Role names alone do not grant access.
- Read the service Activity log
- Open the current workspace document separately
documents.readThe Documents plan feature is required for ordinary document access. Employees can read their own active attachments through My Documents using their employee link.
Role and permission labels
Typical responsibility: Authorized library reader. Role names alone do not grant access.
- Read workspace documents
Demo screenshots may show broader access than your account.
Open and read the log
Open HR Documents → Activity log. Events appear newest first. Review Action, Entity type, Occurred, Actor, Entity, Subject and Changes. Entity identifies the document; Subject identifies its attached employee where recorded. A reference may appear instead of a friendly name.
An actor can be a user or an automated process. In the example, uploads appear as Created, the description edit appears as Updated, and the issued letter was registered by an automated process. A system actor is not an employee who manually uploaded the file.
Find a particular action
- Narrow the search
Open Filter. Choose Action, Entity type, Actor, Entity or Subject according to the investigation.
- Choose the right reference
Entity is the document reference; Subject can be the attached employee reference. Do not substitute an employee number for either record ID.
- Set the date range
Use From date and To date when needed. Check the displayed event timestamp when comparing records.
- Widen the results when necessary
Remove filter chips or Reset and check other result pages before deciding an event is missing.
Inspect event details
Select an event. Open Details to inspect its action, occurrence time, actor, entity, subject and event ID. Retain the event ID when asking an authorized administrator to investigate the same event.
History describes that event at the time it occurred. Open the current document separately to check today's metadata. Reading the Activity log does not grant access to download the underlying file.
Read changes without guessing hidden values
Open Changes. Search changed fields and values when needed. Where offered, expand Compare to inspect Before and After. A creation event can have Not set on the Before side. An event with no field comparison can still record an action.
Export the loaded page
Use Export page CSV to export the current page of filtered events. It does not export every matching page, file contents or the full comparison. Follow your organization's rules for storing and sharing the exported history. The export action is unavailable while there are no exportable loaded events or loading has failed.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Activity log is unavailable | Ask for Activity log read access; document reading or management alone is insufficient. |
| A name is shown as an ID | Use Entity, Subject, timestamp and event ID together; do not assume the record was deleted. |
| The action has zero changes | An event can record an action without field-by-field comparisons. |
| A description is Hidden | The value was withheld; it cannot be recovered from this log. |
| No results appear | Check filters, dates and pagination. A failed load is not an empty history. |
| The current record differs from an event | Later edits can change metadata; inspect the current document separately. |