Overview
Mobaro keeps an activity history for every Asset: who created it, changed its fields, moved it and when. You open it with Show Activities, and it answers questions like "who renamed this Asset?" or "when did it move under Electrical System?" without digging through emails.
This article covers where to find the history, exactly what it records and what it doesn't, and how to keep a fuller record where you need one. For the fields themselves, see Understanding Asset fields and properties; for moves, see Linking Assets to Locations and Asset hierarchies and parent/child relationships.
At a glance |
|
Who can do this | Super Users, or a Role with Assets › Administrate — for Assets at Locations where you're a member |
Where | Locations › Assets › select one Asset › Show Activities |
Works on | Backend (web). The same history is available through the Public API. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: Small changes to your Asset library can affect Schedules, Assignments and reports. A record of who changed what makes troubleshooting and onboarding faster, and means structural changes aren't silent.
Open an Asset's history
1. Select the Asset
In the Backend, go to Locations › Assets and select one Asset.
2. Click Show Activities
Click Show Activities (the pulse icon) in the toolbar. Activities for the Asset opens, with the newest entry first. Each entry shows who made the change.
What's recorded
Entry | Added when | Shows |
Created the asset | The Asset is created | Its Location and parent |
Updated the asset | A tracked field changes | Each changed field, with the old and new value |
Changed the parent asset | The Asset is moved to another parent | Old and new parent, on the moved Asset only |
Changed the location of the asset | The Asset is moved to another Location | Old and new Location, on the moved Asset and each child moved with it |
Converted a Location into this Asset | The Asset was created from a Location | Source Location and where it was Placed under |
Decomissioned the asset | The Asset is deleted | — |
The tracked fields are Name, Description, External ID, Code, Serial, Manufacturer, Model and Category. Changes made through the Public API are recorded the same way, attributed to the API key rather than a person.
What isn't recorded
Short name and Custom Scanner Code changes.
Schedules, Assignments and Results for the Asset. To see the Asset's work, filter Results, Assignments or the Gallery by the Asset (select its Location first).
The history of deleted Assets. Deleting an Asset adds Decomissioned the asset, but the Asset then disappears from Locations › Assets and the API, so you can't open its history afterwards.
🛑 Critical: Deleting an Asset also deletes all of its descendant Assets and removes them from the Schedules that target them. It can't be undone, and none of their histories can be opened afterwards. To retire equipment but keep its record, move it instead of deleting it.
Keep a fuller record
Where you need more than the Asset history — for compliance audits or formal change control — combine it with:
Public API exports: pull the Asset list and each Asset's activity history on a schedule and store the snapshots in your data warehouse or version control. See Getting started with the Mobaro API and Bulk imports and API access for Assets.
A change-request system (for example Jira or ServiceNow) that holds the reason and the approver, while Mobaro holds who changed what and when.
Notes in Description: record the date and reason for a significant change, such as a major component swap. Because Description is tracked, the edit itself is logged too.
If you have an audit requirement these don't cover, share it with your Customer Success Manager.
Best practices
For regulated equipment, pair the Asset history with periodic API snapshots, so there are two independent records.
To retire equipment and keep its history, move it under a dedicated archive Asset instead of deleting it.
When a physical unit is replaced and you need to keep the old unit's lineage, create a new Asset for the new unit rather than overwriting the old record.
Give each integration its own API key, so API changes in the history can be traced to the integration that made them.
Frequently asked questions
What activities can I see under Activities for an asset?
Creation, changes to Name, Description, External ID, Code, Serial, Manufacturer, Model and Category (with old and new values), moves to another parent or Location, conversion from a Location, and deletion. Short name and scanner code changes aren't recorded.
What's the best way to see an asset's maintenance history? Are assignments part of it?
Show Activities covers changes to the Asset record only, not Checklists or Assignments. For maintenance history, filter Results and Assignments by the Asset (select its Location first).
I don't see Show Activities. Which permission do I need?
Super User, or a Role with Assets › Administrate. Without it, Assets doesn't appear under Locations. You also only see Assets at Locations where you're a member. Locations › Modify isn't enough.
If I delete an asset, is its history kept?
It's stored, but you can't open it: a deleted Asset and its descendants disappear from the Backend and the API. To keep a retired Asset's history available, move it instead of deleting it, or export its activities through the API first.