Summary: Archiving removes a task from your active list without deleting it, so your workspace stays easy to scan. Anyone with managing permission over a task can archive a task by hand, and admins can also set up automatic archiving based on days past the due date. Archived tasks stay fully accessible in a dedicated Archive, but once a task is archived, it can never be unarchived.
1. What archiving does
Archiving lets you clear tasks that are no longer relevant out of your active task list, so it's easier to find what you need to do right now. An archived task isn't deleted: it moves into a separate Archive, where it stays searchable and fully accessible.
Anyone with managing permission on a task can archive it manually. Admins can also set up automatic archiving, so old tasks are archived on their own after a set number of days past the due date (see section 5).
2. How to archive a task manually
If you have managing permission on a task, you can archive it from web or mobile:
- Open the three-dot menu on the task card, or from inside the task detail view.
- Select Archive.
- Confirm in the pop-up window. Archiving can't be undone later, so you're asked to confirm before it goes through.
- After you confirm, you'll still see an Undo option for a short time — in the top right of the screen on web, or in a toast notification on mobile. Use it if you archived a task by mistake.
Once that Undo option is gone, the task is permanently archived. It can never be unarchived.
Pro tip: if you need it again, duplicate it instead (see section 3).
Once a task is archived, its detail view shows a banner at the top confirming it's archived and that its status can no longer be changed or unarchived.
3. What you can still do with an archived task
An archived task isn't locked down. You can still:
- Comment on it.
- Edit it, subject to your normal managing permissions.
- Delete it, if you no longer need the record at all.
- Duplicate: the best way to reuse an archived task that's still relevant. Duplicating creates a new, active task with the same content and the same assignees by default — all of which you can edit before saving. The duplicate does not carry over the original's progress or comments; it starts fresh.
4. Finding the Archive
On web, the Archive sits at the bottom of the Tasks navigation panel, below Assigned to me, Created by me, and All tasks.
On mobile, find it in the dropdown navigation menu at the bottom of the Tasks screen.
Inside the Archive, you can search and filter exactly as you would in your regular task list.
5. Searching in the Task Archive
Search inside the Archive works the same way as Task search everywhere else: same relevance ranking, same typo tolerance, same filter behavior. The one difference is scope: Archive search is completely separate from your active Task search. Searching your active task list will never surface an archived task, and searching inside the Archive will never surface an active one. To find an archived task, you have to search from inside the Archive itself.
6. Setting up automatic archiving
Automatic archiving lets old tasks clear themselves out of the active list without anyone archiving them by hand. To set it up:
- Go to Settings.
- Open Task management.
- Set the number of days after due date you want tasks to be archived.
This is customizable from 1 to 365 days, which is also the default.
Note: When you change the settings, the archiving of tasks that are older than the auto-archiving deadline will be archived overnight, not right away.
Tasks without a due date are never automatically archived. Only manual archiving applies to them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I unarchive a task?
No. Archiving is permanent. If you need an archived task's content again, duplicate it to create a new, active task.
Does duplicating an archived task bring back its comments or progress?
No. A duplicate is a new task with the same content and, by default, the same assignees. When you duplicate an archived task, you can edit content and assignees as you wish. The new task starts with no comments and no progress, regardless of the status the original had when it was archived.
Will automatic archiving archive a task that has no due date?
No. Automatic archiving only applies to tasks with a due date. Tasks without one stay in the active list until someone archives them manually.
Still stuck?
Email us at support@speakap.com with your network name and which task you're asking about, and we'll help you out.