Export file types explained

When you create an export, step 4 of the flow — Which format to export — offers four formats: PDF, HTML, JSON and CSV. The right choice depends on where the export is headed — a records system, a spreadsheet, or another application.

• PDF — a single, flat file with everything in one place, including header information such as the date range, record types, accounts, search terms and tags. The most popular choice, and well suited to uploading into an eDRMS.
• HTML — a richer export delivered as a zip file, with an index page and a folder per record containing its text, images and video.
• CSV — a spreadsheet-style export, delivered as a zip file, ready for databases and analysis.
• JSON — a raw, machine-readable format for systems that ingest it.

When to use JSON

JSON is a specialist format. It isn't meant to be read by people — opened directly, it looks like code. It exists for organisations whose records management software is set up to ingest and parse JSON files and present the content in readable form. Unless you're importing into such a system, choose PDF instead: it's readable, portable and keeps file sizes manageable.

Why Feed and Messages are exported separately

Step 3 of the export flow — Export source — asks you to choose Feed or Messages, deliberately. Your Feed contains posts and publicly visible comments — communication the author never intended to be private. Messages are private conversations between an individual and your organisation. Records managers typically store and protect these differently, and combining them in one export risks private message content being handled in ways that aren't appropriate. So each export covers one or the other — set up both if you need both, including as scheduled exports.