--- title: "Export report data" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/exporting-report-data/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/exporting-report-data.md" last_updated: "2026-08-17T00:00:00.000Z" description: "Learn how to export a report’s rows as CSV or Excel, and how to export the files in its attachment columns as a ZIP archive." --- # Export report data Any report you can run, you can export. There are two kinds: | Export | What you get | How it arrives | Feature availability | | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | **Report rows** | The report’s data as a spreadsheet or delimited file | Downloads to your device immediately | Always available | | **Report attachments** | The files in the report’s attachment columns, as ZIP archives | Builds in the background; arrives by notification | Off by default; an administrator must enable it | Don’t confuse either with **COPY, EXPORT** > **Export Report** on the **Report Detail** tab, shown below, which saves the report’s *configuration* for import elsewhere — no rows, no attachments. For more information, refer to the [creating reports](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/creating-reports.md) guide. ## Export the report rows **Steps:** 1. Open the report and select **Export**. 2. If the report has filters applied, select **Use Current Filters** to export only the rows you’re currently looking at. 3. Under **Export Format**, choose the file you want: | Format | File | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | **Comma Delimited** | `.csv` | | **Tab Delimited** | Tab-separated `.txt` | | **Excel** | `.xlsx` workbook | | **Excel (Legacy)** | `.xls` workbook, for older versions of Excel | **Steps:** 4. Under **Limit Results**, choose how many rows to export — **100**, **1000**, or **All**. 5. Select **Export**. The file downloads to your device immediately, named after the report. On a dashboard report widget, the same options are available from the widget’s export control. Charts add a **PNG** option that saves the chart as an image. For more information, refer to the [adding a report to a dashboard](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/settings/dashboards/adding-a-report-to-a-dashboard.md) guide. ## Export report attachments When a report shows file attachments, you can download all of those files at once instead of opening each row and saving attachments one at a time. Use attachment exports to: - Collect supporting documents for an audit or a customer request. - Hand a filtered set of request files to someone outside the system. - Archive the files behind a process without visiting each request. ### Before you start Attachment export requires all of the following: - **The system setting is on.** An administrator must set `ReportAttachmentsExport` to **Yes**. It’s **No** by default, and while it’s off, the **Export Attachments** options don’t appear. For more information, refer to the [system settings](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/settings/system-settings.md) guide. - **The report has at least one attachment column.** Set the column’s format to either **Attachment** or **Attachment - Icon** — both hold files, and you can export either one. For more information, refer to the [report columns](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-columns.md) guide. - **The report identifies the request each row belongs to.** Each attachment belongs to a specific request, so the report needs a column that makes that connection. Any one of these satisfies it: | Column | How to add it | | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Request Link** | A column with the **Request Link** format, or the **Request** > **Request Link** field | | **Intranet Request Link** | The **Request** > **Intranet Request Link** field | | **Request ID** | The **Request** > **ID** field | Reports also include a built-in request link unless **Hide Link** is turned on for the report, which on its own is often enough. If nothing identifies the request, Nutrient Workflow Automation displays a **Cannot export attachments** message instead of starting the export. - **You can run the report.** Anyone with permission to run a report can export its attachments — you don’t need administrator access. This feature doesn’t change report permissions. For more information, refer to the [permissions overview](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/permissions/permissions-overview.md) guide. ### Start the export **Steps:** 1. Open the report and select **Export**. 2. Under **Export Format**, choose the format for the report file the export delivers alongside the attachments. 3. Under **Export Attachments**, select the fields whose files you want. Select **Select all** to include every one. 4. Optionally, use **Use Current Filters** and **Limit Results** to narrow which rows the export scans for attachments. 5. Select **Export**. **Export Attachments** lists one choice per underlying field, not one per column. A report that shows the same field in two columns offers it once, labeled with both headings — for example, **Signed contract File**/**Signed contract File Icon** — and exports its files once instead of duplicating them. Nutrient Workflow Automation confirms that the export has started and builds it in the background. You don’t have to keep the report open, and you don’t have to wait on the page. Selecting anything under **Export Attachments** changes what **Export** does: Instead of downloading the report in your browser, it queues the report and its attachments together and delivers both by notification. To download the report data on its own, run the export with nothing selected there. ### Collect the finished export When the export is ready, a **Reports** notification arrives in your Notification Center. For more information, refer to the [Notification Center](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/settings/notification-center.md) guide. The notification lists: - The number of requests with files, the number of files, and the total data size. - A download link for each ZIP archive. Large exports span several archives. - A download link for the report file, which lists only the requests whose attachments are in the archive, so the report and the files always agree. - Any files that were left out, and why. - The date and time the download links stop working, shown in your own timezone. Only the person who started the export can download its files. Sharing a download link with someone else doesn’t give them access — Nutrient Workflow Automation asks them to sign in and then refuses the download. ### How files are organized in the ZIP The export tags every file with the request it came from, so files stay traceable after you unzip them, and files with the same name from different requests don’t overwrite each other. | Fields exported | Layout in the ZIP | Example | | --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | One | Flat, prefixed with the request ID | `1042_signed-contract.pdf` | | More than one | One folder per request, files prefixed with the field’s heading | `1042/Contract_signed-contract.pdf` | If a single request has two attachments with the same filename, Nutrient Workflow Automation appends a counter — for example, `scan (2).pdf`. ### Understand what was left out An export can be complete without including everything. When something is left out, the notification says so in its subject line and lists the reason: | Reason | What it means | What to do | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Rows with no request identifier | The row doesn’t identify its request, so the export can’t link its attachments | Add a Request Link, Intranet Request Link, or Request ID column | | Requests no longer available | The request was removed after the report ran | Nothing — the files are gone | | Files unavailable at export time | The file couldn’t be read from storage | Retry the export; contact your administrator if it repeats | | Files too large for the archive | The attachment exceeds what can be packed into a ZIP | Use the individual download links the notification provides for them | | Report file missing | The report was too large to build in the chosen format | Rerun the export as **Comma Delimited**, which often succeeds where a spreadsheet format doesn’t | ### Retention Nutrient Workflow Automation keeps attachment exports for **7 days** from the time they’re created. After that, Nutrient Workflow Automation deletes the archives, and their download links stop working. The notification states the exact expiry date and time in your timezone. If you open an expired link, Nutrient Workflow Automation returns you to the Notification Center and explains that the export is no longer available. Run the export again to get a fresh copy. ## Track exports in the audit log When usage tracking is enabled for a report, the audit log records exports under the action **Export**, alongside the **Run** entries for the report itself. For more information, refer to the [report usage tracking](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-usage-tracking.md) guide. --- ## Related pages - [Reports and KPIs](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis.md) - [Optimize your dashboard with key performance indicators](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/adding-process-kpis-to-a-dashboard.md) - [Create and manage reports](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/creating-reports.md) - [How to define key performance indicators for processes](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/defining-process-kpis.md) - [Mastering KPI Display in Request Detail](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/displaying-kpis-for-an-individual-request.md) - [Understanding key performance indicators for processes](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/kpi-overview.md) - [Enhance report management with task automation](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/manage-task-reports.md) - [Effective strategies for targeted reporting](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/planning-reports.md) - [Create and customize chart options for reports](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-chart-options.md) - [Mastering report columns in Workflow Automation](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-columns.md) - [Master report filters for data analysis](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-filters.md) - [Optimize report limits for effective data management](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-limits.md) - [Report usage and audit activity](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/report-usage-tracking.md) - [Reports library overview](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/reports-library-overview.md) - [Streamline task management with Manage Task column](/guides/workflow-automation/admin-guide/reports-and-kpis/the-manage-task-report-column.md)