Backup, export, or audit trail? Getting data out of Content Central
Four different things hide behind 'I need a backup of everything' — a SQL database backup, a document download, a metadata CSV, and the audit history. Pick the right one in two minutes.
Content Central has four different ways to get data out — a SQL database backup, a document download, a metadata (CSV) export, and the on-screen audit history — and this page tells you which one you actually need before you spend an afternoon producing the wrong one.
Start with what the data is *for*
"I need a backup of everything" almost always means one of these four:
- "We need to restore Content Central if the server dies." You want a SQL database backup plus a copy of the document storage folders. Nothing else on this page can restore the system.
- "An auditor, a departing department, or a records request needs to read the documents." You want a document download — the actual files — usually paired with a metadata CSV so each file's field values travel with it.
- "We need a spreadsheet of what's in the system." You want a metadata export: field values, one row per document, no files attached.
- "We need to see who did what, and when." You want the Event Viewer — the user-activity audit history. It is separate from every export above: exporting documents and metadata tells you nothing about who viewed, searched, or deleted them.
A SQL backup file (.bak) is not human-readable. You cannot open it, read documents out of it, or hand it to an auditor — it only restores into SQL Server. If someone needs to read the data, they need an export, not a backup.
Side by side
| SQL database backup | Document download | Metadata export | Audit history (Event Viewer) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it contains | Every record about your documents, users, and settings — but not the document files themselves | The document files, as stored | Field values, one row per document | User activity: logins, searches, captures, deletes, emails, faxes, and more |
| What it can't do | Be read by a human; include the files on disk | Carry field values or activity history | Include the files or any activity history | Be downloaded — it is viewed on screen only |
| Restores into Content Central? | Yes, together with the document storage folders | No — it's a copy for use outside the system | No | No — view-only |
| Typical format | .bak file | Original files | CSV (Excel export available in some views) | On-screen list with filters |
| Who runs it | A server administrator, with SQL Server tools | Any user with access to the documents | Any user from search results; an admin for scheduled reports | Users with the Event Viewer permission (admins see all users' activity) |
Where each one lives
SQL database backup. Taken with SQL Server tools on the server — Content Central does not back up its own database. Your documents are files on disk, so the .bak alone is not a complete restore point; the full guide covers both halves: Back up your Content Central database.
Content Central can mirror every file write to a secondary storage location when that option is enabled in system settings. That's redundancy, not a backup — a bad delete is mirrored too, so you still need real backups.
Document download. Users with the Download permission can save a document's file from search results. For anything beyond a handful of documents, the supported bulk path is a workflow export — the step-by-step is in Export documents and metadata.
Metadata export. Run a search, then click Export CSV in the results header. The export covers the complete result set — up to 50,000 documents — not just the rows loaded on screen.
Large exports run in the background: you'll see an Export Queued notification, and when the export finishes you receive an internal message with a download link rather than an immediate download. That's expected, not an error — but download promptly, because the link expires.
Depending on the view, an Excel export may be available alongside CSV. For a recurring extract, an administrator can set up Report Templates (Administration > Report Templates) to generate CSV reports automatically on a schedule.
Report Templates are scheduled, aggregate extracts. A separate admin feature — export-data templates (Administration > Workflow > Export Templates) — exports metadata per document when workflow events fire: useful for integrations, overkill for a one-time archive. For a one-time pull, the search Export CSV is usually all you need.
Audit history. Open Event Viewer from your user menu. Access requires the Event Viewer permission: users with it see their own activity, and administrators get additional filters — by Action, by user, and by From/To dates — across everyone's activity.
Every auditable action is recorded automatically — logging can't be switched off per action type — but there is no export or download button: the audit log is reviewed on screen.
Audit retention is controlled by Purge Days (Admin > System Settings > Event Log). Empty means events are kept indefinitely; a number there permanently deletes anything older than that many days. Check this setting before you need months of history, not after.
Plan the export before you run it
Five questions decide whether an export is usable or gets re-run. Agree on them with whoever receives the data:
- Catalogs — which catalogs (and document types) are in scope?
- Date range — from when to when, and what happens to documents that fall outside it?
- Metadata fields — exactly which fields must appear in the CSV?
- Delivery — where does the output go, who picks it up, and is it large enough that it will arrive in your Messages inbox?
- Validation sample — pick 5–10 documents you know well and confirm they appear in the export with the right files and field values, before declaring it complete.