> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.qrtub.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Exporting Items to CSV

> Download a Collection's Items as CSV — visible columns or a full-field backup — scoped by whatever search, filter and sort the items table is showing

Exporting writes a Collection's Items to a CSV file you can open in a spreadsheet, edit, and
upload back. Open the Collection, use the **Download / Upload List** menu above the items table,
and pick one of the two download options.

This is the Item list. It is not the print list a [print batch](/print-batches/csv-download)
produces — that file describes Links and codes for a printer and contains different columns.

## The two options

**Download Visible Columns** exports exactly the columns currently shown in the items table. Use
it when you want a working file for a specific job — a stocktake sheet, a list to send someone —
and want to keep the columns you already arranged on screen.

**Download All Columns (Backup)** exports every field configured on the Collection, in the order
the fields are arranged, including fields that happen to be empty on every Item. It also always
includes the Destination URL column and the app-link fallback columns, so a restore can seed
those again. Use it as a backup or when you plan to edit and re-import.

## The export follows what you are looking at

Whatever search, filters and sort order the items table has applied carries into the file. Filter
to one site and you export that site. Clear the filters first if you want everything.

Filtering affects rows, not columns, and pagination does not apply: every matching Item is
exported, not just the page you can see.

## What the file looks like

* **`id` is always the first column.** That is what makes a re-import update the same Items
  instead of creating duplicates, so keep it if you plan to upload the file back.
* **Headers use each field's configured label** — a field relabeled to "Plant No." exports under
  that heading. If two fields would produce the same heading, the second falls back to its field
  key so no two columns collide. Import recognizes either form.
* **List values, such as Tags, are joined with `; `** in a single cell.
* **Dates export as ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`**, regardless of how they are displayed on screen, and
  yes/no fields export as `true` or `false`.
* **Fields no longer on the Collection are left out.** Data left behind by a deleted field is not
  exported.
* **The Item photo is never exported.** Import ignores it too, so there is nothing to round-trip.

The file is named after the Collection and the date — `Heavy_Equipment_2026-08-18.csv` — with any
character that is not a letter, number, hyphen or underscore replaced by an underscore.

## Exporting an empty Collection gives you a template

A Collection with no Items still exports a file with the full header row when you choose the
backup option. That is a convenient starting template: download it, fill in the rows, and
[import it](/import-export/importing-items).

## One thing to fix before re-importing

Values beginning with `=`, `+`, `-`, `@`, `|` or a tab are exported with a leading apostrophe, so
a spreadsheet cannot execute them as formulas. The apostrophe is not removed on import, because
QRtub cannot tell it apart from an apostrophe you meant to store.

The practical consequence: a negative number such as `-40` exports as `'-40`, and re-importing it
into a number field is rejected as an invalid number for that row. Strip the apostrophe from
those cells before uploading.

## Related

* [Importing Items from CSV](/import-export/importing-items)
* [What Is an Item?](/items/overview)
* [Tags](/items/tags)