The quick answer
Open the saved search with Edit from Reports > Saved Searches > All Saved Searches. The Audit Trail subtab lists recorded changes to the definition: Date, Set By, Component Action, Component Type, and Component Name. The row tells you who changed what kind of thing. Click its Component Name to see the exact field with its Old Value and New Value. The Execution Log subtab lists who ran the search and when, with a Was Export column for runs that exported the results. It only keeps the last 60 days.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own search and values when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Morgan Ellis at Larkspur Outdoor Supply owns a public Transaction search called Open Orders Awaiting Fulfillment. It lists open sales orders, and other people use it. It has dropped out of Reports > Saved Searches. Before putting it back, Morgan wants to know who changed it, what they changed, and whether anyone still runs it. Morgan uses the Administrator role.
Editing a search, seeing its Audit Trail, and seeing its Execution Log can need different permissions. Morgan owns this search, which keeps things simple. Looking at the history of a search someone else owns can take more than edit access. The Execution Log needs the Administrator role or at least Create level of the Publish Search permission. If you open a search and one of these subtabs isn't there, check your role before deciding the search has no history.
01. Open the search from All Saved Searches
Go to Reports > Saved Searches > All Saved Searches. Some roles also reach the same list through Lists > Search > Saved Searches. The list doesn't depend on Show In Menu, so a search that's missing from the Reports menu still shows up here, as long as the filters above the list and Show Inactives don't hide it. Open Orders Awaiting Fulfillment is listed with ID customsearch612, Owner Morgan Ellis, and Access Public. The list's Last Run By column already gives a hint: Theo Marsh ran it most recently. Click Edit on the row.
The Saved Transaction Search form opens. Show In Menu is unchecked. That's why this search isn't under Reports > Saved Searches. The Audit Trail and Execution Log subtabs are in the row of subtabs below the header.
02. Read the Audit Trail
Click the Audit Trail subtab. Each row is one change, newest first. The newest row here is 09/15/2026 3:41 pm, Set By Priya Anand, Component Action Update, Component Type Search Options. Below it is Morgan's own history: creating the columns and audience on 06/08/2026 and updating the search options on 06/10/2026.
One save can add several rows, one per changed component. Search Options covers the header check boxes, so the row tells you Priya changed one of them, not which one.
03. Open the change detail
Click Search Options in Priya's row. NetSuite opens the audit trail detail in a separate window. It has one row: Detail Name Show In Menu, Old Value T, New Value F. For a check box, T means checked and F means unchecked. Priya unchecked Show In Menu, and that took the search out of the Reports menu.
Close the window to get back to the search.
04. Check the Execution Log
Click the Execution Log subtab. It lists each run with Run On, Run By, and Was Export, newest first. Theo Marsh ran the search on 09/16, 09/18, 09/21, and 09/23/2026, all after Priya's change, and Priya ran it on 09/22/2026. No row is marked in Was Export, so none of these runs exported the results.
So the search still has regular use, and Theo is the person to tell before you change it again.
A row proves the search ran, not that someone read the results. The log also records runs from dashboard portlets, scheduled runs, and scripts. It keeps a rolling 60 days, so an empty log doesn't prove nobody ever used the search.
05. Fix the search with Save & Run
Check Show In Menu. Then open the arrow beside Save and choose Save & Run. Save & Run saves the definition and runs it, so you test your change right away. For more on what Show In Menu controls, see how to show a saved search in the NetSuite Reports menu.
The search saves and its results open: four open sales orders, SO-3107 through SO-3121, all Pending Fulfillment. Click Edit this Search to go back to the definition.
06. Confirm your change in the Audit Trail
Open the Audit Trail subtab again. A new top row shows your save: Set By Morgan Ellis, Update, Search Options, above Priya's 09/15/2026 row. In this example it's dated 09/25/2026 2:23 am, the time of the save. If you don't see a new row, reopen the search from All Saved Searches and check again.
Click that row's Search Options link. The detail shows Show In Menu, Old Value F, New Value T. Close the window.
07. Confirm your run in the Execution Log
Click the Execution Log subtab. A new top row shows the same time with Run By Morgan Ellis and Was Export blank, above Theo's 09/23/2026 run. That's your Save & Run. Read it as your own test, not as someone else using the search.
Check the result
- The Audit Trail's newest row is your Update | Search Options, above Priya Anand's 09/15/2026 row.
- Its detail shows Show In Menu with Old Value F and New Value T.
- The Execution Log's newest row is your run, with Was Export blank, above Theo Marsh's 09/23/2026 run.
- Show In Menu is checked on the search definition.
Common questions
How do I see who changed a saved search in NetSuite?
Go to Reports > Saved Searches > All Saved Searches and click Edit on the search. Open the Audit Trail subtab. Each row shows the date, the user in Set By, and which component changed, newest first.
How do I see the old and new values of a saved search change?
Click the Component Name link in the Audit Trail row. The detail lists each Detail Name with its Old Value and New Value. For a check box, T means checked and F means unchecked, so Show In Menu going from T to F means someone unchecked it.
How can I tell who has been running a saved search?
Open the Execution Log subtab on the search's edit form. It lists Run On and Run By for each run, newest first. Runs from dashboard portlets, scheduled runs, and scripts are logged too, so a row shows the search ran, not that someone read the results.
What does Was Export mean in the Execution Log?
It's marked when that run exported the results. If it's blank, the run wasn't an export.
How far back does the saved search Execution Log go?
60 days, on a rolling basis. Older runs drop off, so a search with no rows might still have been used before that.
Why did my saved search disappear from the Reports menu?
The usual reason is that someone unchecked Show In Menu. Check the Audit Trail for a Search Options update and open its detail to confirm. Show In Menu only controls the menu link, so the search still opens from All Saved Searches.
Does previewing a saved search show up in the Execution Log?
Previewing an unsaved definition isn't a run of the saved search. In the account we checked, it didn't add a row. Use the Execution Log, not Preview activity, as evidence that a search is being used. Save & Run does show up as a new run.
What permission do I need to see a saved search's Execution Log?
The Administrator role, or at least Create level of the Publish Search permission. Seeing the Audit Trail can need different access, so if one subtab is missing, check your role first.