Importing & Exporting Records
Exporting
- Open any list view (e.g. Contacts), filter if you like, select records (or all), then Export.
- Choose the format (CSV or XLSX) and which fields to include.
- Exports are useful for reporting, a quick safety copy before a risky change, or prepping data for re-import.
Exported files often contain personal information. Store them responsibly and delete working copies when you're done.
Importing
Administration → Import.
- Choose the record type and upload your file (CSV).
- Map each column to a field. Getting this wrong writes data into the wrong place.
- Match by a field (often email) so existing records are updated rather than duplicated.
- Set the options (e.g. how to treat existing values) and run the preview.
- Import.
Always test a real import first — in the Sandbox, or with just a handful of rows in Production — before running a big one. A wrong mapping or match field can create hundreds of duplicates or overwrite good data. Keep the source file so you can correct and re-run.
Tips for clean imports
- Tidy the spreadsheet first: consistent dates, phone formats, no stray columns.
- Use a stable match field (email is common) to update instead of duplicate.
- Import related records in dependency order — the thing being referred to before the thing that refers to it.