# Exporting Binders

The **Export Binder** option allows you to export all documents from a binder, or a subset of those documents. You can also export different artifacts for the selected documents, including renditions, source documents, document fields, audit trails, and attachments. This feature can aid in regulatory submissions and support TMF transfer/archival activities.

To export binders, an Admin must [enable this functionality](/en/lr/4486/#enable-binder-export) in your Vault. 


### Exporting Binders {#exporting-binders}


This video demonstrates how to export binders:
<video controls width=860 height =504 poster="https://platform.veevavault.help/assets/images/posters/2025-exporting-binders.png" preload="metadata">
    <source src="https://platform.veevavault.help/108e9b1d-559c-4d48-918b-1e4c5b5a533c/68e30703-4428-4124-aca1-c12e05756fe0/68e30703-4428-4124-aca1-c12e05756fe0_source__v.mp4" type="video/mp4" >
    
    <track
    label="English"
    kind="subtitles"
    srclang="en"
    src="/en/lr/assets/captions/24r3-exporting-binders.vtt"
    default />
    </video>

[Details](/en/lr/676792/)


## How to Export Binders

To export documents within a binder:

1. From the **Actions** menu for the binder, select **Export Binder**.
2. Use the checkboxes to select the parts of the binder you wish to export.
3. Click **Next**.
4. On the **Edit Details** page, use the checkboxes to select the type of content to export. See details [below][1].
5. Under **Define Document Naming Rule**, select which document field to use for naming exported files. See details [below][2].
6. Click **Next**.
7. On the **Confirmation** page, you will see a summary of your export. Verify all of the information is correct, and click **Finish**.

<div class="note-border alert-info">
  <div class="alert alert-info" role="alert">
    <div><i class="far fa-info-circle"></i></div>
    <div class="alert-text">
      <p><strong>Note</strong>: Vault will not include the following characters in the file name of an export: <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">&lt;</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">&gt;</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">:</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">""</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">/</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">\</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">|</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">?</code>,<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">*</code></p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>



## Notifications

When the export completes, Vault notifies you via email and the [_Notifications_ page](/en/lr/71440/). The notifications include the number of files processed and downloaded, and list any documents that failed to export.

Click the link in the email or notification to download the exported ZIP file. This content is only available for 14 days.

## Folder Path Length Restriction {#folderPath}

Vault rejects filenames and folder names for documents that exceed the maximum size specified by your Admin. The document is not exported and an error is logged in the export summary.

By default, the maximum is 230 characters including all characters from the top level (the drive letter in Windows) through the file extension. For example, the folder path `C:/Docs/CC123.pdf` is 17 characters.

## Related Permissions

<table class="wbord">
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>Type</strong>
    </td>
    <td>
      <strong>Permission</strong>
    </td>
    <td>
      <strong>Description</strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Security Profile
    </td>
    <td>
      Documents: Download Document
    </td>
    <td>
      This permission is required to download document source files and the <em>Large Size Asset</em> rendition type.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Security Profile
    </td>
    <td>
      Documents: Download Rendition
    </td>
    <td>
      This permission is required to download document renditions, except the <em>Large Size Asset</em> rendition type.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Document Role
    </td>
    <td>
      View Document
    </td>
    <td>
      This permission is required on the binder in order to export. It's also required on any component document in order to download document field values.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Document Role
    </td>
    <td>
      View Content
    </td>
    <td>
      This permission is required on any component document in order to download files.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Document Role
    </td>
    <td>
      Download Source
    </td>
    <td>
      This permission is required in the current lifecycle state for all documents within the binder.
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

## Export Artifact Options

For the component documents that you export, you can choose to include:

  * **Renditions**: Use the drop-down to select rendition types. [Viewable rendition](/en/lr/3815/), which exports the (typically auto-generated) PDF rendition of your document, is the most common.
  * **Source Documents**: This option exports the source file for a document. Source documents can be any type of file (ZIP, DOCX, CSV, etc.).
  * **Document Fields**: This option creates a single CSV file within the top-level binder folder listing each downloaded file and the associated document fields. If you download both viewable renditions and source files, the CSV file contains a separate record for each. (The fields export to TXT format if localization is enabled for the Vault.)
  * **Document Attachments**: This option exports attachments that exist on selected documents. Use the drop-down to select either the _Latest Version_ of the attachments or _All Versions_. When your Vault uses [source version-specific attachments](/en/lr/24287/#version_specific), the export file contains an _Attachments_ folder for each document version to show the document versions to which each attachment belongs. This option does not export attachments on the binder itself.
  * **Document Audit Trail**: Select this checkbox if you want to export document audit trails. The audit trails include all document versions. Choose between exporting these logs as a PDF or CSV. TXT export is available if localization is enabled in your Vault.

## Overlays & Signature Pages

Viewable renditions may export with or without their overlays and signature pages. This depends on your Vault's settings.

## File & Folder Naming {#naming}

By default, Vault uses the following standards for naming files during export:

  * Document file names: Selected document field (or _Document Number_ if selected field is blank) plus the file type extension, for example, _REF-0023.docx_
  * Binder folder names: _Document Name_, for example, _CompliancePack CC-39_
  * Section folder names: Section name, for example, _References_
  * Document fields file: "export_summary" plus date and time, for example, _export\_summary\_2013\_05\_14\_14\_09\_00\_EDT.csv_

If an Admin has enabled the **Apply user-defined value as folder and file names in export** option, you can manually enter folder and file names. For folder names, the **Add Section**/**Edit Section** dialog allows you to enter a value in the **Export Folder Name** field. For file names and the binder folder name, Admins must configure the _Export File Name_ document field. If configured, this document field is editable on the Doc Info page for each document and for the binder itself.

## Version Selection

If you export renditions, source documents, or document fields, you can select which versions to export. Vault adds the version number to each exported filename. You must have the correct permissions on a document version to export it.

## Export Size Limits

You cannot export more than 50,000 artifacts and export ZIP files may not exceed 5 GB, by default. You'll see an error notification if a requested export exceeds either limit.

When exporting document attachments, the attachment filepath, name, and extension cannot exceed 230 bytes. For example, an attachment located in `Products/Cholecap/PrescribingInformation.docx/TrainingVideo.mp4` is 64 bytes. One character does not always equal one (1) byte. For example, the character "菌" is three (3) bytes.

## Exporting Binders with Bulk Action

You can [export binders using a bulk action](/en/lr/18822/#document-export-bulk-action). The _Document Export_ bulk action provides the same options as binder export.

 [1]: #contentType
 [2]: #naming