Reports generate valuable data, but stakeholders outside ServiceNow need it in familiar formats. This guide shows you how to export report results as Excel spreadsheets or PDFs for sharing and offline analysis.
Why reports need export options
ServiceNow reports live behind authentication and require platform knowledge to interpret. Business stakeholders — executives reviewing metrics, external auditors needing compliance data, or team leads tracking KPIs — need report results in Excel or PDF format they can open, annotate, and share without ServiceNow access. Without export options, someone ends up manually recreating report data in spreadsheets, which introduces errors and wastes time.
How report exports work
ServiceNow generates exports from the current report view — whatever filters, grouping, and date ranges you've applied. List reports export the visible rows (respecting list limits), while pivot tables and charts export the underlying data structure. Excel exports preserve data and basic formatting but lose ServiceNow-specific elements like reference field links. PDF exports attempt to replicate the visual layout but work better for some report types than others. The key decision is standard export vs 'Export all' — standard respects your list view limits, 'Export all' gets the complete dataset.
Making exports more useful
Basic exports work for ad-hoc data sharing, but recurring business reports need consistency. Set up your report filters and formatting before exporting so recipients get clean, predictable data. Consider creating multiple report variants for different audiences — a summary view for executives, detailed data for analysts. For reports that get exported regularly, document the export process so other team members can generate consistent files when you're unavailable.
Before you start
- •Access to the report you want to export
- •personalize_choices role or higher for full export options
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Step by step
Navigate to your report
Go to All > Reports > View/Run and open the report you want to export. Run the report if it hasn't been executed yet — you can only export actual results, not report definitions.
Apply any filters or date ranges before exporting — the export captures exactly what you see on screen.
Access the export menu
Right-click anywhere in the report results area to open the context menu. Alternatively, click the three-dot ellipsis menu (⋯) in the top-right corner of the report view. Both methods show the same export options.
The ellipsis menu is more reliable on mobile devices or when right-click is disabled.
Choose your export format
Select 'Export to Excel' for data analysis and manipulation, or 'Export to PDF' for documents that preserve visual formatting. Excel exports work best for list reports and pivot tables. PDF exports work better for charts and reports with complex layouts you want to preserve exactly.
PDF formatting varies significantly by report type — charts export cleanly, but wide list reports often get truncated.
Select export scope
Choose between standard export (respects list limits) and 'Export all' (complete dataset). Standard export gives you the rows currently visible, typically limited to 250-1000 records depending on system configuration. 'Export all' downloads every record that matches your report criteria, regardless of list limits.
Use 'Export all' for complete datasets, but be aware it can take significantly longer for reports with thousands of records.
Download the generated file
ServiceNow processes the export and either downloads it immediately or shows a progress dialog for large datasets. The file downloads to your browser's default download location with a name that includes the report name and timestamp. Check the file opens correctly and contains the expected data before sharing it with stakeholders.
Best practices
Always use 'Export all' for complete datasets — the default list limits will give incomplete data that misleads recipients.
Set meaningful report filters before exporting so recipients get relevant data, not everything in the table.
Test PDF exports with sample data first — wide reports often get cut off and become unreadable in PDF format.
Include the export date and any applied filters in your email when sharing files so recipients understand the data scope.
Create separate report views for different export needs rather than trying to make one report serve all audiences.
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