Exporting Data & Files

Everything captured in a process run — form answers, who completed each task and when, and any files people uploaded — can be exported. You can export a single run on the spot, or have every run of a process bundled up and emailed to you.

Exports are available to signed-in team members only. Guests completing a shared run never see these options.

Exporting a single run

There are two places to export one run:

Inside the run — open the run and click Export in the top-right.
From the process overview — open the Process Runs tab, find the run and click Data, then Export.

Both open the same chooser with three formats:

Format	What you get	Best for
CSV	One row per field: section, task, status, who completed it and the answer	Quick analysis in Excel or Google Sheets
PDF	A printable summary of every task, answer and completion status	Sharing with someone outside NextStep, or keeping a record
ZIP	`summary.csv` plus every file uploaded during the run, grouped by task	Auditing, hand-offs, or archiving a run with its evidence

PDF export opens a preview first. Use your browser’s print dialog and choose Save as PDF.

The CSV option is only shown from the overview’s Data modal. Inside a run you’ll see PDF and ZIP.

What’s in the ZIP


Run title.zip
├── summary.csv
└── attachments/
    ├── 01 Upload your ID/
    │   └── passport.pdf
    └── 04 Site photos/
        ├── Front entrance.jpg
        └── Loading bay.jpg

Folders are numbered in task order so they sort correctly.
Files keep their original names. Uploaded images use the field label as their name, so give image fields a clear label when building the process.
Only files uploaded during the run are included. Images or attachments you added when designing the process are listed in the CSV but not bundled.
If a file can’t be found, it’s listed in MISSING_FILES.txt instead of failing the whole export.

Exporting all runs of a process

For a whole process — every run, every answer, every file — NextStep builds the export in the background and emails you when it’s ready. This keeps large exports reliable: some processes have hundreds of runs and thousands of photos.

You’ll find Download all runs in three places on the process overview:

The ⋮ menu in the top-right
The Settings tab, under Export
The download icon on the Process Data tab

Choose which runs

Pick All runs, Completed runs only, or Active runs only.

Choose whether to include files

Tick Include uploaded files to bundle every upload. Untick it for a data-only export, which is much smaller and faster.

Start the export

Click Start export. You can close the window and carry on working. The Recent exports list in the same window shows progress, and you’ll get an email with a download link when it’s done.

What’s in the all-runs ZIP


Process title-runs.zip
├── runs.csv          ← one row per run, one column per field
├── fields.csv        ← one row per field across all runs
└── runs/
    ├── 001 Run title/
    │   ├── summary.csv
    │   └── attachments/…
    └── 002 Run title/
        └── …

runs.csv is the spreadsheet view — open it to compare runs side by side. Fields line up across runs even if the process template has changed since older runs were started.
fields.csv is the long format — handy for pivot tables or importing into another system.

Download links expire 7 days after the export is ready, and only the person who requested the export can use them. After that, simply request a new export.

Exporting the Process Data table

The Process Data tab on the overview shows every run as a spreadsheet. The download icon there exports exactly what you’re looking at — your current filters, sort order and hidden columns are respected — as a CSV. Use this when you want a quick, filtered slice rather than the full archive.

Frequently asked questions

Who can export? Any active member of the team the process belongs to. Guests cannot export.

Where do the emails go? To the person who started the export, in the language your team uses.

Does exporting cost anything or count towards limits? No. Exports don’t count towards storage usage, and the temporary ZIP is removed automatically after 7 days.

Can I export via the API? Run data is available through the REST API and MCP. The ZIP bundles are currently app-only.