Archive SharePoint List Items

A SharePoint Workflows tutorial by Peter Kalmstrom

SharePoint does not work well when you have more than 5000 items in a list, so it is a good idea to archive items that are no longer needed in an archive list.

In the demo below Peter Kalmström, CEO and Systems Designer of kalmstrom.com Business Solutions, shows how to create a workflow that copies items with the status Closed to an Archive list. He also adds a delete action to the workflow, to remove the closed items from the original list.

Note that the version history is lost when you archive items this way, so you should not archive until you know that you don't need earlier versions.

Create a template from the Main list
Create a new list - the Archive list - built on that template.
In SharePoint Designer, create a new workflow attached to the Main list and set it to start automatically when an item is changed.
Define the Condition: If Current Item Status equals Closed.
Add the Action: Copy Current Item to the Archive list.
If you wish to delete the ticket from the Main list, add another action: Delete Current Item.
Check the workflow, and Publish it if it is ok.
Close a test ticket in the Main list. Then it should show up in the Archive list. If you set an action to delete the item, the ticket should also disappear from the Main list.