> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.workflowgen.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.workflowgen.com/admin/change-events.md).

# Change Events

## About Change events

The **Change events** feature lets Administrators review supported successful changes made through the WorkflowGen Administration Module (including the **Configuration** panel) and User Portal.

The **Change events** menu item is available only to Administrators and appears only while the audit mode is set to **Standard** or **Full**. It can also record eligible successful page navigation when Full mode is enabled. When the mode is **Off**, new capture stops and retained Change events history is hidden from the Administration Module interface until the feature is enabled again.

Change events can support operational review, troubleshooting, and governance processes. It is not a complete database-activity monitor or, by itself, a compliance guarantee. Direct database changes or unsupported integration paths are not automatically recorded.

## Access and visibility

Only WorkflowGen Administrators can access the Change events interface and exports. Recorded events can still represent supported Portal-user activity. The Administration Module navigation item and Change event routes are available when **Standard** or **Full** mode is configured.

When the mode is set to **Off**:

* WorkflowGen does not capture new change events
* The **Change events** item is hidden
* Retained history is unavailable through the Change events interface
* Engine service retention can continue when the original integrity key remains available.

Turning capture Off does not delete retained records, repair an unhealthy chain, or remove the requirement to preserve the original integrity key.

## Modes

The audit mode is set in the [Change events](/admin/configuration-panel.md#change-events) section on the **Configuration** panel **General** tab.

<table><thead><tr><th valign="top">Mode</th><th valign="top">Behavior</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td valign="top">Off</td><td valign="top">Stops new capture and hides Change events history (default)</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">Standard</td><td valign="top">Records supported successful create, update, and delete operations</td></tr><tr><td valign="top">Full</td><td valign="top">Includes Standard and records eligible successful user-visible page navigation</td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="info" %}
Full mode does not record every HTTP request. Failed pages, background requests, feeds, polling, suggestions, and downloads are excluded. Save requests are not logged as Full mode READ navigation, but supported successful save mutations remain covered by Standard. Successfully generated CSV, JSON, and printable Change events exports create a Full mode READ event.
{% endhint %}

## Capture scope

<table><thead><tr><th valign="top">Area</th><th valign="top">Representative supported coverage</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td valign="top">Administration Module</td><td valign="top"><ul><li>Applications and parameters</li><li>Participants</li><li>Directories</li><li>Users</li><li>Groups</li><li>Delegations</li><li>Categories</li><li>Folders</li><li>Global lists and display order</li><li>Process definitions</li><li>Activities</li><li>Parameters</li><li>Notifications</li><li>Process data</li><li>Forms</li><li>Workflows</li><li>Related supported operations</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td valign="top">User Portal</td><td valign="top"><ul><li>Requests</li><li>Actions</li><li>Comments</li><li>Delegations</li><li>Saved views</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td valign="top">Configuration panel</td><td valign="top"><ul><li>General</li><li>Portal</li><li>Administration</li><li>Synchronization</li><li>Integration</li><li>Applications</li><li>AI</li><li>Remote Approval</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td valign="top">Full navigation</td><td valign="top">Eligible successful user-visible User Portal, Administration Module, and Configuration panel page displays.</td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="info" %}
Direct database modifications, unsupported extension paths, and operations that fail before successful completion are not automatically captured.
{% endhint %}

## Browsing and filtering events

The Change events list displays the captured date and time, user, operation, module and entity context, affected item, process context (when available), and access to event details.

Use the available date, user, operation, module, entity, process, and item filters to narrow the result. Sorting and paging operate on a stable result snapshot so that newly captured events don’t unexpectedly shift records between pages during the current browse operation. Refresh or reapply the filter when a new snapshot is required.

## Viewing previous and new values

Open an event to see its identity and context and, for mutations, the semantic difference between **Previous values** and **New values**. Unchanged fields are de-emphasized so that changed fields are easier to review.

If a retained payload is malformed, the page displays the stored Previous and New payloads as inert encoded text. JSON parseability and HMAC authenticity are independent: malformed JSON can still belong to a Valid authenticated chain. Use the Integrity status and verification report, not parsing success, to determine whether the record is authenticated.

## Export events

Administrators can export the current result as CSV or JSON or open a printable view. Exports can contain usernames, identifiers, process context, and before/after business data. Protect exported files with the same access, retention, transfer, and disposal controls used for the source data and database backups.

In **Full** mode, a successfully generated Change events CSV, JSON, or printable export creates a READ event. Other downloads remain outside Full navigation capture. When integrity readiness is unhealthy, an administrator may still be able to generate an export as an unverified diagnostic copy; that export may not create a new READ event because the chain cannot safely accept new records.

## Integrity status

Open **Integrity** to view the latest verification result. The panel shows when verification completed and, when available, the number of Change events verified. Select **Verify integrity** to run a new verification; processing time depends on the retained history.

**Valid** means WorkflowGen did not detect an integrity issue in the retained Change events covered by that verification. If the result is marked as out of date, the retained history changed after the report was created; run verification again for a current result.

Integrity verification does not encrypt Change events data and does not confirm that every business operation was captured.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If verification fails, is interrupted, or cannot use the configured integrity key, preserve the database and do not modify Change events data directly. Confirm that the original integrity key is configured without displaying, logging, or sharing it. Follow the supported recovery procedure in the [WorkflowGen Technical Guide](https://docs.workflowgen.com/tech) (choose the version of the guide that corresponds to your version of WorkflowGen) or contact WorkflowGen Support, but never send the integrity key.
{% endhint %}

### Diagnostic access when integrity is unhealthy

When **Standard** or **Full** remains configured but integrity readiness is unhealthy, WorkflowGen restricts normal Administration Module and Configuration panel access while keeping the **General** configuration and the Change events diagnostic area available to administrators. If retained storage can be read, history and exports can be shown as unverified diagnostic copies.

Preserve a database copy before recovery. Do not edit event hashes, event rows, the chain-head row, or retention checkpoints manually.

If immediate access to other Administration Module pages is required, switch the mode to **Off** under **Change events** on the **General** tab in the **Configuration** panel. This restores those pages but hides Change events, stops new capture, and does not repair or authenticate the retained chain.

## Retention

Set the retention period in the [Change events](/admin/configuration-panel.md#change-events) section on the **Configuration** panel **General** tab.

The default retention period is 365 days. WorkflowGen interprets the setting as exact 24-hour periods. On its cleanup schedule, the engine service deletes only an authenticated contiguous expired prefix in bounded transactions. The authenticated checkpoint maintains continuity from the deleted prefix to the surviving chain without recreating deleted payloads.

Deletion is irreversible from WorkflowGen. Only an external database backup can recover payloads that retention already removed. Retention continues while capture is Off when the original key is available. Lowering retention can make older events eligible for deletion during the next cleanup.

**Full** mode can materially increase storage volume. Monitor measured event growth, cleanup completion, and database capacity in the customer’s workload; do not rely on a generic sizing formula.

## Privacy and masking

Change events can contain personal identifiers and business data. Integrity does not encrypt payloads. Restrict Administrator access and protect the database, backups, and exports throughout their lifecycle.

WorkflowGen masks known sensitive configuration and credential fields, including protected connection-string updates. It does not use field-name heuristics to decide that arbitrary process data or customer-defined values are passwords. Keep customer-specific secrets out of audited definitions by using approved `<WF_APP_SETTING_name>` macros backed by protected application settings or a customer-supplied external secret mechanism. External secret resolution is not provided by Change events.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.workflowgen.com/admin/change-events.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.