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I'll see if I can keep this succinct, while also covering everything. I've been tasked with figuring out a way to "extend the life" of workflow data beyond the usual limit (without just manually extending it and causing performance issues). I know the "Workflow History" doesn't actually go away, but the data Nintex is providing leaves a lot to be desired (I'm guessing because the workflow history is now in a custom format). 

After going down a rabbit hole of playing with the SharePoint API and searching on Google, I'm stuck. 

First off, the initial source that gave me this idea suggested creating a link in the actual SharePoint list, that points back to Workflow History via the GUID. Only the `List ID` and `Primary Item ID` are always blank. 

So I started trying to figure out if I could locate that (or some other piece of helpful data) via the API. Perhaps rebuild that data with Power Automate. Or find a reference to the `Workflow History Parent Instance` column somewhere.

But all the other references I find call out columns from the original SP list, like `WorkflowInsanceID` or mention something like grabbing the data from `/WorkflowAssociations`, both of which are always blank. 

Basically, if I manually grab all the `GUID`s from the Workflow History list that I know are associated with a list item (the aforementioned Workflow History Parent Instance) then I can create a view similar to what I'm looking for. But those GUIDs are not listed anywhere but the Workflow History list itself. 

Plenty of what I was reading is from years ago. But this seems like a huge oversight. I mean, how does Nintex build the list of workflows if that data isn't available?? 

Any help would be very much appreciated. I feel like I'm just missing something. Or the previous owner of this site misconfigured something that would allow this data to be available. Let me know if I need to clarify anything. Thanks! 

Hi,

Thank you for your question.
By default SharePoint's cleanup job will delete workflow history for completed workflows that are older than 60 days.
When this is done, the Nintex workflow history which is far more verbose is still intact in the Nintex content databases.
To view Nintex's workflow history you can click on the ellipsis for an item and select "View Workflow History" even if the SharePoint workflow history has been removed.

Thanks for responding @SimonMuntz. Yes, Microsoft disconnects the workflow history (it's not deleted) after 60 days. But I'm not sure what you mean, what ellipsis? Is that the same as right clicking on an item and selecting "Workflow". I don't see an option for a "View Workflow History." Just the default "Workflow" that loads up the SharePoint information. 



Regardless, after taking a break and restarting digging through search results I found someone else trying to understand why the ID was always blank (workflow ID that is). And the response was to grab that during the start of the workflow and add it to an additional column. Something that feels redundant. But a quick test does prove it to work. 



My next step is to plan out the most efficient way of using that extra info. Do I clean things up (making it easier to filter on the ID of the list item) or do I make the filtering based on the workflow IDs. 

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