Table of Contents

Export Records

Lesley Updated by Lesley

You can export your records into multiple formats from both the Builder and your Live App.

When exporting, you have three format options:

  • CSV: CSV stands for Comma Separated Values and is the most common format for manipulating data with a spreadsheet. CSV files can be opened with Microsoft Excel and most other spreadsheet programs. Note: This is the format required for importing back into Knack.
  • TXT: Text format separates values with tabs and can also be opened with Excel and other spreadsheet programs.
  • JSON: JSON is a special JavaScript format commonly used by programmers and developers. This can be a convenient way to back up the records in your database.

Export from the Builder

You can export your table's records at any time from the Knack Builder. When viewing a table's records, select "Export" from the top menu, then select your preferred format type.

Arrow pointing to the Export button for objects in the Records section of the Builder

Note that you can only export one table at a time and all fields in that table will be exported.

When exporting from your Knack Builder, you can limit which records are included in that export by filtering the records beforehand. You can learn more about filtering records in the Builder in the Manage Your Records support article.

Export from the Live App

Records can be exported from the Live App by enabling exporting for views that display multiple records, such as grid or list views. 

Exporting can be enabled from the "Options" section of the view settings when editing views in the Builder toolbox.

Arrow pointing to the Exporting option from the "Options" section of the view settings when editing views in the Builder toolbox

This will add an export link above the view. This is a good option if you wish to allow your users the option to export records directly from your Live App.

When exporting from the Live App, only fields in that view will be exported. For example, if a table has twelve fields, all of those fields are contained in the export from the builder. However, if you add an export link to a grid that only displays four fields, the export will only contain those four fields. This helps you control which users have access to the data within your app. 

Exports from the Live App will export all records currently in the view. Though a view may contain 100 records, and the first page of that view only displays the first 25 records, the export will include all 100 records. 

Records included with the export will follow the exact order of the view, including any sorting or filters that have been applied.

Exporting Images & Files

Exporting an image or file field type will provide you with the URL for the file's location in our server. If you wish to batch download all these images, we would suggest using a tool like Download Manager to have it manage all the downloads for you.

Another option would be to use the Image Sniffer tool, that comes with the Download Manager extension, while viewing a listing of your images, in order to automatically find all images on a page, and download them in a batch. Our testing indicates that files download into an HTML format so this tool may not work well for files.

Exporting Names & Addresses

Name and Address field types contain subfields and will be separated into multiple columns when exported. For example, a name field can contain a title, a first name, and a last name so the export will include columns for each of these subfields.

Separating subfields for name and addresses are also required when importing into Knack. 

Advanced Exporting

If you need advanced export options not available with export options in the Builder or Live App, we would suggest looking into services like Zapier or Integromat that would allow you to connect with third party services. 

Further, we also have an API available that would allow you to build custom export functionality into your app using custom code. You can read more on using custom code and our API here: docs.knack.com 

Notes & Troubleshooting

  • Exporting paragraph text field values do include the HTML, such as <br /> for line breaks. There is no need to remove any HTML for re-importing to Knack.
  • The option to export all of the data in an app at once is not available at this time. You can only export data from one table at a time.

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