FAQs on Audit Logs
What is an audit log and how is it helpful?
An audit log, also known as an audit trail, is a record of all the actions that each user in your CRM account performs, displayed in chronological order. An audit log can help identify which user performed what type of change, as well as which records they've changed.
Users with an administrator profile or CEO role can access the audit logs. However, other types of users not having admin privileges can view their own audit logs, as well as those of their subordinates.
How are audit logs different from the Timeline feature in records?
The Timeline feature in Zoho CRM is record-specific; i.e., it's a history of all the actions performed on a specific record.
Audit logs capture the activities and actions performed across all records in the CRM, in a chronological order. In other words, audit logs aren't specific to any single record, but encompass the whole list of actions and activities users in your CRM have performed.
Whereas a Timeline can only viewed within a record and can't be downloaded or exported. You can export your audit log as a .csv file.
What types of actions do audit logs capture?
Audit logs list every time records are created, edited, updated, deleted, and imported, along with other actions related to the modules in which they were performed and the features that were used to make the changes. The actions performed while account setup and all other setup related actions are also captured in the audit logs.
Audit logs capture the following actions performed in modules:
Modules | Actions performed |
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Audit logs capture the following actions performed during setup:
Features | Actions performed |
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Are bulk actions captured in the audit log?
Yes; the following bulk actions are captured in the audit log:
Mass update |
Mass delete |
Import |
Export |
Restore records from the recycle bin |
Can I see a user's login history in the audit log?
The audit log doesn't capture users' login histories. Login history is captured in Zoho Directory. Audit logs capture the actions each user performs in relation to records and other setup actions, in chronological order.
To view the login history of a user, you can go to Setup > Security Control > Login History.
How can I see the changes made to workflows in audit logs?
Any action performed in a workflow—including creating, editing, updating, deleting, and locking or adding actions to rules—will be displayed in the audit log, along with the details of who made the change, when they made the change, which workflow they changed, and the name of the rule.
To see which changes were made, click View changes next to the action you want to see more details for.
See also >> Audit log for workflow rules
Can I filter the audit log based on the actions performed or a date range?
Yes, you can filter the entries in the audit log based on the entity (module, setup, analytics), user, action type (add, update, delete, etc.), or a selected date range.
For how many days will an action be listed in the audit log?
As of now, one can view the logs of actions in the audit log for up to 60 days or two months logs. Zoho CRM only captures users' actions, and any action logged prior to 60 days in the past is permanently deleted.
If you want to see the history of logs for more than 60 days, we recommend you export your audit logs periodically so that you'll always have a record of actions performed in your account. You can export and download the audit log files as a .csv file every 60 days or so to get all the action logs.
Can I export the audit log and save it on my local computer?
Yes, audit logs can be exported as a .csv file and saved on your local device or cloud drive.
To export an audit log, follow these steps:
- Go to Setup > Security Control > Audit log.
- Click Export Audit Log on the right-hand side.
Click Download in the bottom-right corner once the log has been exported successfully.
Who can access the audit log?
All users in your CRM account can access the audit log. However, non-admin users can only see their own actions and those of their subordinates.
An account admin or an administrator can see the full chronological history of activities and actions they have performed and which have been performed by users who report to them in the role hierarchy.
By default, administrators can view the audit logs of all users in their organization.
Why can't I view other users' audit logs?
If your profile is anything other than an administrator, you can only view your audit logs and your subordinates' logs.
Users with the administrator profile can view the audit log for every user in their organization.
Why can't I see my superior's audit log in my account?
Audit log permissions follow the hierarchy set up within your organizations, where superiors can view the action logs of their subordinates to manage the team more effectively. Therefore, any non-admin user can view only their own action logs and their subordinates' logs.
Only the CRM account administrator can view everyone's entries in the audit log.
We hope that this list of frequently asked questions about audit logs is informative. If you still have questions that haven't been addressed, please let us know here. We will be happy to discuss them with our subject matter experts and add them in the future. And please don't forget to share your rating below :)
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