Salesforce stores notes in two different formats depending on when they were created. Exporting all of them in bulk — in a readable format — requires knowing the difference.
Two Types of Salesforce Notes
- Classic Notes — created in Salesforce Classic. Stored on the
Noteobject. Plain text, linked directly to a parent record. - Enhanced Notes (Lightning Notes) — created in Lightning Experience. Stored as
ContentNoterecords underContentDocument. Formatted as HTML.
Why Bulk Export Is Not Straightforward
- Classic Notes and Enhanced Notes live in different Salesforce objects
- Salesforce Data Export gives you metadata rows — not readable note content
- There is no native export-to-file option for notes
Export All Notes with SFDC File Exporter
- Open SFDC File Exporter and select Export Notes
- Choose output format: TXT, PDF, or DOC (Word)
- Export as individual files (one per note) or merged into a single document
- Group notes by parent record for easy navigation after export
- Works for both Classic Notes and Enhanced Lightning Notes
Use PDF format when sharing exported notes with teams who don't have Salesforce access.