Reference > Script steps reference > Records script steps > Export Records

Export Records

Exports records to a specified file.

See also 


With dialog specifies whether to display dialog boxes when the script step is performed. These dialog boxes let the user set new export criteria.

Create folders specifies whether to create new folders that you specify in the output file path.

Specify output file allows you to specify the file and file type to export. Choose the folder you want to export to, or type the folder path directly into the list. Specify one path per line. FileMaker Pro Advanced will use the first path it locates. See Creating file paths. The file type you use depends on the import requirements of the program using the exported data. You can also specify options to Automatically open the file and Create email with the file as attachment after saving.

If FileMaker Pro Advanced runs a script that does not specify an absolute path, and the database file containing the script is hosted, the path is assumed to be the current user's Documents folder.

Note  You can export records as a Microsoft Excel worksheet by choosing Excel Workbooks (.xlsx). See Saving and sending records as an Excel file.

If you specify XML as the export file type, the Specify XML and XSL Options dialog box appears, where you can specify an XML grammar and choose an XSLT style sheet if you want to transform the XML. The XSLT source may be a file, the result of an HTTP request, or a calculation that generates a file path or an HTTP request.

Note  Do not export fields whose name is entirely numeric (such as "2") or whose name is a single-byte kana character (Japanese version) using the FMPDSORESULT grammar.

Specify export order uses the export order that was in effect when you added the script step. The last export order used in the file appears as the default and can be edited or deleted. If necessary, choose an output file character set from the list. Select Apply current layout's data formatting to exported data, or the formatting of the last exported data will be used.





FileMaker Pro Advanced 


FileMaker Go 


FileMaker WebDirect 


FileMaker Server 


FileMaker Cloud for AWS 


FileMaker Data API 


Custom Web Publishing 


Runtime solution 


Originated in 

FileMaker Pro 6.0 or earlier


You can set the export order before adding this script step, or perform the step with a dialog box so a user can set new criteria. Export Records exports all the records currently being browsed. If you want to limit the set of records you're exporting, use a find request before using Export Records.

If you include this script step in a server-side script and you do not set With dialog to Off, the text (NOT compatible) appears in the script step. The script, however, will run. The behavior will be the same as if With dialog is Off. See Get(DocumentsPathListing) function for more information.


In server-side scripts:

Exporting to the FMP12 format is not supported.

Only certain folders can be accessed. See Paths in server-side scripts.

In FileMaker Go:

Exporting to FMP12 or XML formats is not supported.

The Create folders option is not supported.

In FileMaker WebDirect:

This script step is not supported in mobile browsers.

Exporting to FMP12, XML, XLS, or XLSX formats is not supported.

The Create folders option is not supported.

If Specify output file is selected, FileMaker WebDirect outputs exported records with the specified filename and file type but ignores the specified file path.

FileMaker WebDirect outputs exported records to the web browser's default download location.

If field data or record data is too long for the export format, the Get(LastError) function returns 0 rather than 736.

Example 1 

Finds and sorts records, then exports the found set as an Excel file without prompting the user.

Go to Layout ["Invoices"]
Perform Find [Restore]
Sort Records [Restore; With dialog: Off]
Export Records [With dialog: Off; Create folders: Off ; "Unpaid Invoice List.xlsx"; Unicode (UTF-16)]

Example 2 

Exports the found set as an Excel file unless a file with that name already exists in the output folder.

If [not PatternCount ( Get ( DocumentsPathListing ); "Unpaid Invoice List.xlsx" )]
End If

Related topics 

Import Records script step

Save Records As PDF script step

Save Records As Excel script step

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Script steps reference (category list)