Archiver Script – Knowledge Base Article

Overview

The Archiver Script is an automated Smartsheet utility designed to manage sheet size, performance, and long-term data organization by moving or copying rows from a source sheet into archive sheet(s) based on configured criteria and scheduling rules.

This script helps teams:

• Prevent sheets from reaching Smartsheet row, cell, or attachment limits

• Improve sheet performance

• Maintain historical records in structured archive sheets

• Automate recurring archival processes

• Control how archive sheets are created and reused

All archiving configurations are controlled through the Archiving Setup Sheet:

https://app.smartsheet.com/sheets/pRMMmVrXwHCcF2CcWRwx8X3hFwCGRPw34QmCWXH1

How the Archiver Works (High Level)

1. The script reads all enabled rows in the setup sheet.

2. It determines whether archiving should run based on Quick Pick or scheduling columns.

3. It evaluates configured criteria to determine which rows qualify for archiving.

4. It determines whether to use an existing archive sheet or create a new one.

5. Rows are either moved or copied into archive sheets.

6. Result metadata is written back into the setup sheet.

Column Reference Guide

Source Sheet Information

ID to Archive (Required)
Enter the Smartsheet Sheet ID of the sheet you want to archive.
Archiving will not run without this value.

Original Sheet Name
Manual reference field for the source sheet’s name.

Original Sheet URL
Manual reference field containing the source sheet link.

Archive Sheet Naming

Archive Sheet Name
Defines the base name for generated archive sheets.

The script automatically prepends "Archive-" to the name.

If additional archive sheets are required, suffixes are added such as:

Archive-MySheet
Archive-MySheet-1
Archive-MySheet-2

Smartsheet has a 50-character sheet name limit.

Prefix+Name Length
Provides a calculated value to indicate whether the archive sheet name will exceed the Smartsheet limit and be truncated.

Execution Controls

Enabled
Must be checked for archiving to run for that configuration row.

Quick Pick
Provides simplified scheduling options.
Quick Pick selections override the Monday-Saturday and Monthly scheduling columns.

Examples include:

• Immediately One Time (runs once and then automatically clears)

• Hourly

• Daily

Monday – Saturday
Enter a value between 1 and 24 representing the hour of the day that archiving should run on that weekday.

Monthly
Enter a day of the month (1-31) or choose Last Day of Month to schedule archiving.

Archive Destination

Archive Root Directory
Enter the Smartsheet Folder ID representing where archive sheets and subfolders should be created.

Archiving Criteria Configuration

Duplicate Criteria
Indicates multiple rows reference the same Sheet ID.
Only one criteria row per sheet is allowed to ensure predictable archival routing.

Column Criteria (Name)
Enter the name of the column in the source sheet used for evaluation.

Examples include:

• Created Date
• Status
• Project Phase

Criteria
Comparator dropdown defining how the cell value is evaluated.

Examples include:

• Equals
• Greater Than
• Less Than
• Contains

Criteria Value
The value used in the comparison.

Sheet Health Monitoring Thresholds

If the sheet reaches 80 percent of any configured threshold, it will be added to the health monitoring sheet:

https://app.smartsheet.com/sheets/gCWgcJJ3jqxV9WfwXV4r9cW6vqq435wMXRvqXXj1

Or Cell Count Greater Than
Custom cell limit threshold.

Or Row Count Greater Than
Custom row limit threshold.

Attachment Size Threshold (KB)
Custom attachment storage limit threshold in kilobytes.

Archive Sheet Management Strategy

Always New Sheet
If enabled, a new archive sheet is created every time the archiver runs.

Best used for snapshot-style archival.

Fill Existing Archive Sheet
If enabled, the script continues using the current archive sheet until it reaches 80 percent of configured limits.
At that point a new archive sheet is created automatically.

Current Archive Sheet ID
Displays the most recent archive sheet used.
This is a clickable hyperlink.

New Archive Sheet Created
Checkbox indicator showing whether a new archive sheet was created during the most recent execution.

New Archive Sheet Creation Date
Displays the creation date of the most recent archive sheet.

Execution Results

Number of Rows Recently Archived
Displays how many rows were successfully archived during the last execution.

Data Handling Options

Preserve References
If TRUE, formulas, cross-sheet references, and cell links are retained in archive sheets.
If FALSE, references are removed and only static values are stored.

Copy Rows Instead of Move
If TRUE, rows are copied into archive sheets and remain in the source sheet.
If FALSE, rows are moved and removed from the source sheet.

Configuration Restrictions

The following combinations are not supported:

Always New Sheet cannot be used with Hourly Quick Pick scheduling.

Multiple setup rows with the same Sheet ID are not allowed.
Only one criteria definition per sheet should exist.

Always New Sheet and Fill Existing Archive Sheet cannot both be selected.

Best Practices

Keep archive sheet names under approximately 45 characters to avoid truncation.

Use Fill Existing Archive Sheet for operational sheets where continuous archiving is desired.

Use Always New Sheet for reporting snapshots or historical segmentation.

Configure health thresholds to proactively monitor sheet growth.

Avoid duplicate configuration rows for the same source sheet.

Summary

The Archiver Script provides a flexible automated framework for managing Smartsheet data growth.

By combining scheduling, criteria-based row selection, dynamic archive sheet creation, and proactive health monitoring, the script helps maintain long-term sheet performance and data organization.

✅ If you want next — I can make you something VERY high value internally:

• “How To Configure a New Archiving Rule (Step-By-Step)” KB

• “Troubleshooting Archiver Issues” KB

• “Architecture / Technical Deep Dive (for IT only)” KB

These are usually the 3 KBs companies pair with the main overview.