How to run a report against archived data

You run a report for last month and the rows are thin or missing. The campaign was busy, so where did the records go? On a busy system, older call and lead data gets moved out of the live tables into archive tables to keep the active ones fast. The good news is you do not need to write SQL to read it. Most reports have a checkbox for exactly this.

What archived data is

As your system runs, every dialed Lead and its Disposition lands in the working tables that reports read by default. Those tables grow, and to keep them quick, older rows get copied into separate archive tables. The data is not deleted, it is just parked somewhere the standard report does not look unless you tell it to.

This is separate from Recording retention, which governs how long your audio files stick around. Archiving here is about the call and status records that feed your reports, not the WAV files.

Running the report against the archive

Most of the System-Wide reports carry a Search archived data option. Using it is straightforward.

1. Open the report you want from the REPORTS section.
2. Set your usual filters: the date range, the Campaign, and any other options the report offers.
3. Tick the Search archived data checkbox.
4. Run the report and read the results as you normally would.

That single checkbox tells the report to look in the older, archived tables instead of, or in addition to, the live ones. When the rows you expected were missing because the data aged out, ticking it brings them back.

How the lookup decides where to read

flowchart TD
  A[Run report with date range] --> B{Search archived data ticked?}
  B -->|No| C[Read live working tables]
  B -->|Yes| D[Read older archive tables]
  C --> E[Rows missing for old dates]
  D --> F[Older records appear]

What to expect when you tick it

Treat the archive search as the answer to one specific question: where did my old numbers go? For anything inside your recent window, leave the box unchecked so the report stays fast. For a quarterly look-back, a year-over-year comparison, or an audit request that reaches past your retention window, tick it and accept the wait.

If you are not sure how far back your live data still reaches, run the same report twice for an old week, once with the box and once without. If the unchecked run is empty and the checked run is full, you have found the boundary where your system moved that period into the archive.

Looking at archived data is often a prelude to comparing whole campaigns over time. The all-campaigns summary report pairs well with the archive checkbox when you want a long historical view across everything you run.

For the full layout of the reports menu and how the archive option fits alongside the other choices, our overview of VICIdial reports walks through the whole section.

The short version

Old data is not gone, it is archived. Tick Search archived data on the report, keep the date range tight, and your historical rows come back. Leave it unchecked for recent reporting so everyday runs stay quick.

Running a busy dialer and tired of babysitting table maintenance and archiving yourself? Check our managed VICIdial pricing and let us handle the box.