Exporting Data

Records can be exported as a reference, as a backup, or to move data into another program. Report data can also be exported separately; see the Advanced Reporting Guide.

⚠️ Export permission is granted, not default. An administrator has to give a user export permissions before any of this is available.

On this page:

• CSV export
• XML export

CSV export

How it works

Exporting, editing the file, and importing it back is the standard way to update large sets of records. Insightly matches on record ID numbers to find the existing records and replaces their field values with the ones in the file.

You can export every record on an object, or narrow the list first.

⚠️ Not everything exports. File attachments, events, comments, and emails saved to Insightly cannot be exported at all.

Exportable objects

Contacts, Contact Notes, Leads, Organizations, Organization Notes, Opportunities, Opportunity Notes, Projects, Project Notes, Tasks, Custom Object Records, Products, Price Books, Price Book Entries, Quotes, Quote Products, Phone Calls, Prospects, and Tickets.

Exporting all of an object’s data

1. Navigate to the object.
2. Click Show Sidebar to the left of the New [Record] button.
3. In the right sidebar, click Export under Import/Export.
4. Some record types ask you to choose an export format.
5. The CSV arrives by email. Check the spam folder if it does not appear within a few minutes.

The finished file can also be downloaded from the bell icon in the upper right.

⚠️ Download links expire after 30 days.

Exporting a subset

1. Navigate to the object.
2. Narrow the list by clicking Filter (which includes an option to create a custom filter), by choosing a view from the List View dropdown, by clicking a link under Your Recent Imports in the right sidebar, or by clicking a tag to filter by tags.
3. Click the checkbox above the records to select everything on the page. Lists longer than 50 items run across several pages, so click the Select all... message at the top of the list to include all of them rather than just the current page.
4. Click More above the list, then Export.
5. The CSV arrives by email, and the link expires after 30 days.

Recent exports

The four most recent exports appear in the right-hand sidebar under Your Recent Exports, linking to the zipped CSV each one generated. The list is object-specific and does not show exports from other objects. It does not appear at all if you have no recent exports.

XML export

XML is used mainly by more technical customers to back up the links and relationships between entities, and to share data with other applications that support the format.

⚠️ XML files cannot be imported into Insightly. Converting to CSV with a spreadsheet program or conversion tool makes some, but not all, of the data importable.

Coverage is partial. Main record data exports fully. Emails export only the first 100 characters including header information, calendar events are included, and files are not included at all.

The API extracts more than an XML export does.

How to export to XML

Any Insightly administrator can reach this from System Settings > Data Export. Click Email me an Export of All Account Data and Insightly sends the file as an email attachment.