Export your business records from Business Contact Manager

Your Business Contact Manager for Outlook data is stored in SQL Server, in the .bcm file format, but you can export it in several formats. For example, you may want to export business information for use in an integrated accounting program, or to easily transfer your data to another computer. If you choose to, you can export customizations that you have made to your database, with or without the business data. The .bcmx file format is used for customizations only.

This article describes the options you have for exporting your business data, and briefly discusses some of the reasons you might want to.

What do you want to do?

Understand exporting data

Export your data

What happens when you export customizations?

Exporting products and service items

Export a report to Excel for further analysis

Understand exporting data

The export process in Business Contact Manager for Outlook creates a copy of selected data from your current Business Contact Manager database and saves it to a file, which you can later import to another database. No data is removed from your current database by the export. Limit the data you export by filtering it, or export all Accounts, Business Contacts, communication history items, and your product and service items lists.

You can export your business data into one of the following file formats:

• Business Contact Manager data (.bcm). This can include all of your business data such as Accounts, Business Contacts, Opportunities, Business Projects, and their communication history. This also includes product and service items, and all of the customizations that you have made. The .bcm format is the only option that can export both Accounts and Business Contacts, as well as all your customizations. You might export data in the .bcm file format if you want to use the information on a different computer that is running Business Contact Manager for Outlook.

• Business Contact Manager Customizations (.bcmx). This file type includes user-defined fields, custom forms (or record types), layouts and reports. Use this format if you want to export only the customizations you've made in Business Contact Manager for Outlook. None of your business data are exported. You might choose this file format to store a unique layout that new employees can use to quickly configure their systems.

• Comma-Separated Values (.csv). This export option creates a  comma separated values file (.csv file) storing the exported data. Many programs can read .csv files, including Microsoft Excel. You might choose this file format if you wanted to export only your Business Contact Manager for Outlook data without customizations, or if you wanted to view the data in another program that can read .csv files.

  There are limitations to the .csv format, however. For example, you can export only one type of record, either Accounts and Account-based records or Business Contacts and Business Contact-based records if you choose this file format. Also, you cannot export communication history items to a .csv file.

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Export your data

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click the Business Contact Manager tab, and then click the Import and Export button.

3. Click Export to a File.

4. Click the file format that you want to export your data to, and then click Next. Follow the instructions below for the file format you chose.

   Note:  In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, the default location for the export file is the Documents folder. In Microsoft Windows XP, the default location is the My Documents folder. Click Browse if you want to change the location.

Business Contact Manager data (.bcm)    

1. In the File to export box, type the location and name for the file that you will create in the export process.

2. Select the type of records you want to export:

   • Accounts and Account-based record types. Includes Accounts and any records based on the Account record type, such as Stores.

   • Business Contacts and Business Contact-based record types. Includes Business Contacts and any records based on the Business Contact record type, such as Leads.

3. If you want to filter the list of records that will be exported, click Filter. For information about filtering records, see Filter records in Business Contact Manager.

4. In the Include section on the Select the file location and export options page, click the options you want:

   • All history items. Includes the entire communication history of the selected records, such as Opportunities, phone logs, appointments, Business Projects, files, and e-mail messages.

   • Except e-mail messages. Excludes e-mail messages from the communication history items for the selected records.

   • Products. Includes all product and service items in your database.

     Tip: If a product or service item has been added to an Opportunity, and if the Opportunity record has been linked to an Account or Business Contact, the product or service item is included in the exported records. Use this check box if you want to be sure that you export your business's entire list of products and services.

5. Click Export, and then click Yes when prompted.

6. If errors occurred, you can click View Log to review the errors. Otherwise, click Finish.

   Tip: You can also export records into the .bcm file format from a workspace. Click the tab that lists the records that you want to export, right-click one or several records, and then click Export. Complete the Export Business Data wizard.

Business Contact Manager Customizations (.bcmx)    

1. Type the location and name for the file that you will create in the export process.

2. Click Export, and then click Yes when prompted.

3. Click Finish.

   For information on how customizations in a .bcmx file are imported, see Import your data into Business Contact Manager

Comma-Separated Values (.csv)    

1. Type the location and name for the file that you will create in the export process.

2. Click one of the following options:

   • Business Contacts and sub-types. Includes Business Contacts, and any records based on the Business Contact record type, such as Leads.

   • Accounts and sub-types. Includes Accounts, and any records based on the Account record type.

3. If you want to filter the list of records that will be exported, click Filter. For information about filtering records, see Filter records in Business Contact Manager.

4. Click Next, and then click Yes when prompted to export the .csv file.

5. Click Finish to close the wizard.

Notes: 

• Click View Log to see what the specific errors or exceptions are. If these messages include issues that need to be fixed, fix them in the file you are trying to export, and then retry exporting your data.

• Exporting business data to or from different regions of the world is not recommended because some data structures and types are not convertible.

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What happens when you export customizations?

All of the customized reports, form layouts, record types and user-defined fields that you created in Business Contact Manager for Outlookwill be saved to a .bcmx file if you choose to export customizations.

Most customizations will overwrite any existing settings in the destination database, but there are some exceptions. For information on how importing customizations will affect your database, see Import your data into Business Contact Manager.

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Exporting products and service items

You can export product and service item information along with other records, but you can't export product and service item lists alone.

If you want to export only this data, you must create a .csv file of your products and service items. The file must be formatted with at least three columns, in order:

• Product or Service Name

• Description

• Unit Price.

You can also include Quantity and Unit Cost columns, but these are not required.

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Export a report to Excel for further analysis

You can export data directly from any report to an Excel spreadsheet for further analysis, record keeping, or archiving. With Business Contact Manager for Outlook, you can generate and customize reports on sales, products and services, Accounts, Business Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, Business Projects, Project Tasks, and marketing activities.

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Business Contact Manager.

2. On the Ribbon, click the Reports tab.

3. Click one of the following types of reports, and then click the report that you want to open.

   • Accounts

   • Business Contacts

   • Leads

   • Opportunities

   • Top Customers

   • Top Products

   • Top Referrers

   • Dormant Customers

   • Marketing

   • Business Projects

   • Project Tasks

     For information about how to modify a report, see Use reports and charts in Business Contact Manager.

4. In the Actions group, click Export to Excel. The report opens in Excel.

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