About this plugin
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.