The Export object data action captures objects of one application, in one space, and writes them into a data package. Use it to ship sample or reference content — for example a starter set of code lists — alongside a custom application, so the same objects appear automatically wherever that application and package are installed.

Tip

On this page, you can also do the following:

  • New package: Creates an empty data package from a key, name, and optional description, and opens its version history. Use it when you want the package to exist before any content goes in — Export object data below creates the package for you when the key is new, so you rarely need both.
  • Download all: Packs the latest non-draft version of every data package into one zip and notifies you with a download link when it is ready. The archive is named all-data-packages-<instance>-<timestamp>.zip, which is what distinguishes it from the regular screen’s all-packages-… archive. Nothing to pack means the action reports that instead of producing an empty file.

Export the objects

Fill in the package details

  1. Navigate to Settings > Packages > Data packages.
  2. In the panel header, click Export object data.
  3. Enter a Package key. If a package with that key already exists, it must be a data package — otherwise the export is rejected.
  4. Enter a Name for the package.
  5. Optionally enter a Provider.
  6. Select the Application whose objects you want to export.
  7. Select a Space. The list only offers spaces that belong to the chosen application, so it stays empty until you pick an application — and changing the application clears the space you already picked.
  8. Click Next.

Choose the objects to export

  1. Tick the objects you want to export. Child objects load when you expand a branch, so a deep hierarchy doesn’t have to load up front.
  2. Leave everything unchecked to export the whole space — that is the default, and it matches how the export behaved before this step existed.
  3. Click Export.
Tip

The application must already be bound to the chosen space, and the space must be a root-level, active space — data packages only carry root-level spaces.

The selected objects are written onto the package’s draft version as one data scope. Re-exporting the same application under the same package key is deterministic — object keys stay the same across runs, so a later export only adds what changed. Each key is built from the object’s name. A name that would produce a key starting with core_ or cust_ is prefixed with the asset kind instead (object_core_business_glossary) — those two prefixes mean a reference into the core or customer package, so a plain object key starting with either would belong to no package at all.

Each export writes a single scope, and it replaces whatever scope the draft already carried. Exporting a second application or space onto the same draft therefore drops the first one. To ship a package that covers several spaces, edit the draft version’s JSON and declare the extra scopes there.

Check whether object data installed

After a data package that carries object data installs, its package detail page shows a badge next to the package name:

  • Data seeded: Every scope the package carries installed.
  • Data seeding skipped: Every scope was skipped, with the reason shown underneath.
  • Data partially seeded: Some scopes installed and others were skipped.

For what decides each scope’s outcome and why the decision sticks across upgrades, see When content installs.

Troubleshooting

Warnings after export

The export can still succeed when some content can’t be carried into the package format. Each case is reported as a warning rather than failing the whole export:

WarningWhat it means
An attribute referencing another object was droppedReference-typed attribute values aren’t carried by the package format.
A relation pointing outside the exported set was droppedThe package only stores relations between objects that are part of this export.

Rejected exports

Rejection reasonCause
The application has no objects in the chosen spaceNothing to export.
The application isn’t bound to the chosen spaceThe application and space must already be linked.
The space is nested under another spaceData packages carry only root-level spaces.
The space isn’t activeAn inactive space can’t be exported from.
The application wasn’t installed by a packageObject data can’t install onto an application that has no owning package.
A referenced key belongs to no packageAn object type, attribute type, relation type, workflow, or icon used by the exported data must resolve to a package-owned key.
The package key already exists and isn’t a data packageThe export can only add object data onto an existing data package, never onto another package type.
An object image couldn’t be downloaded, or was emptyThe export needs the actual image content to embed it in the package.
A selected object can’t sit at the top levelYou selected an object without its parent, and its object type isn’t allowed at the root of the target hierarchy. Select its parent as well.