In Salesforce, data export is extracting system records, primarily for data backup, system integration, and generating reports in spreadsheet format.
We generally export data from Salesforce to Excel, requiring built-in functionalities or specialized external tools that facilitate data export into Excel format.
In this Salesforce tutorial, we will discuss the following three methods for exporting backup Data from Salesforce.
- Export Data from Salesforce using the Data Export tool
- Export Data using the Salesforce Data Loader
- Export Data from Salesforce Reports
Export Data from Salesforce using the Data Export tool
To export or schedule an export in Salesforce Lightning, navigate to Salesforce Lightning’s setup page and follow the below steps.
1. On the setup page of Salesforce Lightning, go to the quick find box, and search then select data export under the heading Data.
2. The Data export wizard offers two options for exporting data from the org. The first option is to export at the current time directly, and the second is to schedule the export.
To export at the current time click on the button Export Now.
3. In this window, we will set the export settings. First, activate the checkboxes in the top section to include images, documents, and attachments in the export.
In the Exported Data section, select the objects you want to include in the export. Otherwise, click on the checkbox Include all data.
After selecting the data records, click on the button Start Export.
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4. Now, the export of the selected records will be started, and after completion, we can see the zipped folder, and there you can see the exported files in csv format.
5. If you have to schedule a data export, click the Schedule Export button in the data export wizard.
6. In this window, select the region’s ISO code from the dropdown field Export File Encoding.
After this, activate the checkboxes in the top section to include images, documents, and attachments in the export.
7. In the frequency field, there will be two options to schedule, either from the day of the month or the specific weekday of the month.
For example, we can select “On day 5 of every month” or “On the 1st Sunday of every month”.
8. Select the time duration for the scheduled export from the fields Start date and End date fields then select the scheduled time for export from the field Preferred Start time.
At last, select the time for scheduled data export, then click on the Save button.
As we click on the Save button, the report will scheduled according to the selected date and time.
In this way, we can export data and schedule a data export in Salesforce Lightning by following the above steps.
Export Data using the Salesforce Data Loader
You must have installed the Salesforce Data Loader tool on your system to export the data.
Follow the below steps to export Data from the data loader. In this example, we will export the data of the Contact object.
1. Open the Data Loader tool and click on the Export button.
2. Login with your user credentials.
3. Click the checkbox Show all Salesforce Objects, then select the object you need to export the data from.
After this, enter the name, and browse the location of the extract file, then click the Next button.
4. In this step, select the fields from the checkboxes. We can also apply conditions to filter out the records.
In this example, to filter the records, I have added a condition to filter records with Mailing Country as USA, and for that Field will be MailingCountry, and Value will be USA. After adding this, click on the Add Condition button.
At last, click on the Finish button.
5. In the warning message, click the Yes button to proceed.
6. Now, the data export operation will start, and after it is completed, we will see the number of successful extracts and errors that occurred during the operation.
To view the extracted data in the data loader CSV viewer, click on the View Extraction button.
7. To open the extracted data in the Excel file, click the Open in external program button or Close button to end the data operation.
To access the Excel file, navigate to the location you selected for the CSV file in step 3.
This way, we can extract data from Salesforce using the data loader tool by following the above steps.
Export Data from Salesforce Reports
To Export Data from Salesforce Reports, you must have an existing report or Create a Report of the data you want to export.
Follow the below steps to export data from reports.
1. Click on the App Launcher and search, then select Reports.
2. In the report tab, select the Report.
3. Click on the dropdown near the Edit button and select Export.
4. In the Export view, we have two options: Formatted Report and Details Only.
- Formatted Report: This option exports the report, including the report header, groupings, and filter settings.
- Details Only: This option exports only the detail rows. This option is preferred for further calculation or data uploading to the systems.
After selecting the export option, select the file Format and click the Export button.
Now, you can access and rename the Excel file from the download folder.
This way, we can export the data from the Salesforce reports to Excel.
Conclusion
In Salesforce, the Data Export Wizard and Data Loader are efficient tools for exporting org data, whether for analysis, backups, or information migration between Salesforce instances.
We also discussed exporting data from Salesforce reports in Excel format. Following the above examples might help you gain insights into exporting data and scheduling a data export in Salesforce.
You may like to read:
- How to Import Data into Salesforce
- How to Export Leads in Salesforce
- Export Contacts in Salesforce (Using Custom Report Type)
- How to export report to excel in Salesforce
- How to Install Salesforce Data Loader for Windows
- How to Recover and Restore the Deleted Data using the Salesforce Data Loader
I am Bijay Kumar, the founder of SalesforceFAQs.com. Having over 10 years of experience working in salesforce technologies for clients across the world (Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.). I am a certified salesforce administrator and expert with experience in developing salesforce applications and projects. My goal is to make it easy for people to learn and use salesforce technologies by providing simple and easy-to-understand solutions. Check out the complete profile on About us.
