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Home/System setup and customization/Environment setup and maintenance/Managing vaults/Vault event log

User Action Log

Last updated on 3 April 2026

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The user action log feature gives more visibility to the actions that M-Files users do in a vault. User action log adds event types listed in the table below into the vault event log. To enable the feature, see Configuring the vault event log.

Important remarks

  • To use this feature, the Electronic Signatures and Advanced Logging module must be active on the M-Files server.
  • Actions done in M-Files Mobile or M-Files API based custom clients are not recorded.
  • Using this feature considerably increases the size of the vault log.
  • For compliance reasons, user action log also records global search events.
  • The new and the classic M-Files clients log events differently. For more information, see this table.

Event types with User Action Log

Rows 1 to 10 of 20
Event type
Description
Collection Members dialog opened An event of this type is recorded when the Collection Members dialog is opened.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who opened the dialog
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The name and ID of the object

This event is only recorded in the classic M-Files Desktop.
Column added An event of this type is recorded when a column is added to a listing.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who performed the modification
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The column that was added
Column removed An event of this type is recorded when a column is removed from a listing.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who performed the modification
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The column that was removed
Column settings modified An event of this type is recorded when columns are added or removed in the Choose Columns dialog.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who performed the modification
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The columns that are visible to the user after the modification

This event is only recorded in the classic M-Files Desktop.
Data exported An event of this type is recorded when data is exported from the vault.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who did the export operation
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The export settings and the number of exported objects
  • The name and ID of the exported objects
File opened An event of this type is recorded when a file is opened.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who opened the file
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The name and ID of the object
File opened for document comparison An event of this type is recorded when a user compares document content in the classic M-Files Desktop.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who compared document content
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The name and ID of the compared document

This event is only recorded in the classic M-Files Desktop.
Metadata card opened An event of this type is recorded when the metadata card is shown in the right pane or in a new window for an object.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who opened the metadata card
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The property IDs, name, and ID of the object

The property IDs are shown only if you have enabled this behavior with the feature settings.
Object copied to clipboard An event of this type is recorded when an object is copied to the Windows clipboard.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who copied the object
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The name and ID of the object

If multiple objects are copied, all items are separately logged.

This event is only recorded in the classic M-Files Desktop.
Object dragged from M-Files An event of this type is recorded when an object is dragged and dropped from M-Files.
The entry contains these details:
  • The name and ID of the user who exported the object
  • The timestamp of the event
  • The name and ID of the object

If multiple objects are exported, all items are logged.

Differences between the new and the classic M-Files clients

Detail The new M-Files Desktop and new M-Files Web The classic M-Files Desktop and classic M-Files Web
Column and view names Names are localized. Use IDs for comparison if there are differences in localization. Names are not localized.
Special characters Special characters are not replaced. Paths show correctly. Special characters are replaced. Paths can show incorrectly.
Search events View ID shows as 0. Search paths and flags are not supported. The search result view name is in UTC. View ID shows as -10000. Search paths and flags are shown. The search result view name is in the local time zone.
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Important remarks
Event types with User Action Log
Differences between the new and the classic M-Files clients
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