Which Search Field Values a Log View Shows
A Log Event can carry many Search Field values: an order number, a customer number, an amount. A Log View doesn't show all of them. It shows a value only when its Search Field is part of that Log View. This protects data that the Users of a Role shouldn't see. It also puts work on administrators: every new Search Field stays invisible in every Log View until someone adds it. Users who don't know the rule report "missing" values that are only hidden. On this page, you will:
- ✅ Learn which parts of a Log View make a Search Field visible, and why a Restriction doesn't
- ✅ See what users, administrators, and the built-in Admin view show for the other values
- ✅ Watch seven walkthroughs of the rule in the Order-to-Cash demo New 7.12
Understanding Search Field visibility
on a Log Event"] --> Q{"Search Field part
of the Log View?"} Q -->|"Yes"| S["fa:fa-eye Shown to everyone
with access"] Q -->|"No"| P{"HideSearchFieldValuesInLogViews"} P -->|"true (default)"| U["fa:fa-user User: not listed"] P -->|"true (default)"| A["fa:fa-user-shield Administrator: Hidden"] P -->|"false"| O["fa:fa-triangle-exclamation Shown with an
override marker"] style E fill:#2678BD,color:#fff style S fill:#3F827B,color:#fff style U fill:#9E59BB,color:#fff style A fill:#9E59BB,color:#fff style O fill:#E47528,color:#fff
A value on a Log Event (blue) is shown when its Search Field is part of the Log View (teal). Otherwise the System Parameter HideSearchFieldValuesInLogViews decides: hidden (purple) or shown with a warning (orange). The built-in Admin view shows every value.
What Makes a Search Field Part of a Log View
A Search Field is part of a Log View when it is in at least one of these places in the Log View configuration:
| Part of the Log View | Where an administrator sets it | Value shown? |
|---|---|---|
| Default search setup | Search criteria tab | ✅ Yes, as a column and in the details |
| Optional fields | Search criteria tab | ✅ Yes, in the details, and as a column (Display result = Default) from the first search |
| Group by | Grouping tab | ✅ Yes |
| A column | Display result tab: your own columns or a Display Field Configuration | ✅ Yes, always as a column |
| Restrictions | Search criteria tab | ❌ No. A Restriction filters the events, but doesn't make the value visible. With the default columns, its field shows as a column reading N/A, by design |
| Nowhere in the Log View | – | ❌ No |
Who Sees What When a Value Is Not Part of the Log View
With HideSearchFieldValuesInLogViews at its default true, the Search Field Values tab of an event shows:
| Who | What the Search Field Values tab shows |
|---|---|
| A user who is not an administrator | Nothing. The field isn't listed at all, so the user can't tell that the event has it |
| An administrator in an ordinary Log View | The field name with Hidden and a spy icon. The hover text explains that only administrators see that the event has this Search Field, that the value stays hidden for them too, and that adding the Search Field to the Log View makes it visible for all users |
| Anyone in the built-in Admin view | Every value. The Admin view is only offered to administrators |
With false, values that are not part of the Log View are shown to everyone with access to the Log View, with an override marker; see Walkthrough 7.
The Web API enforces the same rule: asking a Log View for the values of a Search Field it doesn't include is answered with 403 Forbidden. Access to a Log View through a Role gives the Log View, not every value of every Search Field; see Permission Set for Log Views.
Seven Walkthroughs in the Order-to-Cash Demo
All seven use the Order-to-Cash demo, order ORD-10001 from customer CUST-001, and Log Views named after the people who use them.
1. Fields in the Log View

Animated walkthrough: the Log View includes both fields, so both show as columns and in the details.
- The Log View Contoso Orders: Order Desk has O2C - Order ID and O2C - Customer ID in its Default search setup.
- Customer service searches for the order.
- Both values show as columns and on the Search Field Values tab of the event.
2. Hidden for Administrators

Animated walkthrough: the administrator sees that the event has a Customer ID, but not its value, until the Admin view.
- The Log View Contoso Orders: Warehouse includes only O2C - Order ID.
- In the event details, the administrator sees O2C - Customer ID: Hidden and hovers over it for the explanation.
- The same order in the built-in Admin view shows CUST-001.
3. Not Listed for Users

Animated walkthrough: a user sees only the fields the Log View includes, with no trace of the others.
- A user in the Role Contoso: Warehouse Staff has access to the Warehouse Log View only, and no Admin view.
- The user searches for the order and opens the event details.
- O2C - Customer ID is not listed at all.
4. A Restriction Doesn't Make a Value Visible

Animated walkthrough: the Restriction filters on the customer, but the customer's value stays hidden.
- The Log View Contoso Orders: Customer CUST-001 has a Restriction on O2C - Customer ID = CUST-001.
- The search returns only that customer's events.
- The O2C - Customer ID column shows N/A, and the details show Hidden. That is by design: the Restriction limits the result strictly, and its values are never shown, so users don't learn what the administrator restricted on. To show the value, add the field to the Default search setup, the Optional fields, or a column.
5. An Optional Field

Animated walkthrough: the Optional field's column shows its value from the first search, and users may also search on it.
- The Log View Contoso Orders: Finance has Contoso: Order Total as an Optional field.
- The user types ORD-10001 in O2C - Order ID and searches. The Order Total column shows 99.95, though the search doesn't use the field.
- To search on the field as well, the user switches to Advanced mode, clicks Add new clause, picks Contoso: Order Total with the operator Not Empty, and searches again: the orders that have a total.
6. A Column on the Display Result Tab

Animated walkthrough: a column always shows its value.
- The Log View Contoso Orders: Finance Overview lists Contoso: Order Total as a column on the Display result tab.
- The user searches on the order number only.
- The Order Total column shows 99.95.
7. The Override Parameter Set to false

Animated walkthrough: the override shows the value, and a marker warns that the Log View would hide it.
- An administrator sets HideSearchFieldValuesInLogViews to
false. - In the Warehouse Log View, O2C - Customer ID now shows CUST-001, with an eye-and-spy marker.
- The marker's hover text says that an override configured by an administrator lets you see the value, and asks you to have an administrator review the Log View, because such values may contain sensitive information.
Warning
falseshows every extracted value to everyone with access to a Log View. Use it only temporarily, for example in a test environment; see Choosing a Value.
Next Steps
- Log View Search Criteria Tab - Add Search Fields to the Default search setup or the Optional fields
- Log View Display Result Tab - Show a Search Field as a column
- How to use the Search Field Wizard - Create a Search Field from a message in a Log View
Related Topics
- What is a Log View?
- Add or Manage Log View
- Log View Grouping Tab
- What is a Search Field?
- HideSearchFieldValuesInLogViews
- HideAdditionalFieldValuesInLogViews - Show, hide, or mask the built-in event detail fields
- Permission Set for Log Views