When a Salesforce org is being retired or decommissioned, every file and attachment must come out before the org goes dark — or it's gone permanently.
The Problem
- Salesforce deletes all data when an org is deactivated
- The native Data Export only gives you CSV metadata — not the actual files
- There is no built-in "export everything" button in Salesforce
- Downloading files manually one by one is not realistic at scale
What You Need to Export
- Files (ContentDocument) — PDFs, contracts, images, spreadsheets
- Attachments — legacy files linked to records
- Notes — Classic Notes and Enhanced Lightning Notes
- Documents — files stored in org document libraries
How to Do It with SFDC File Exporter
- Download and install SFDC File Exporter — free, no AppExchange needed
- Connect to your org using your Salesforce credentials
- Run separate exports for Files, Attachments, Notes, and Documents
- Files are saved locally in their original format, organized by object and record name
- A metadata CSV is generated as a full audit trail
Run the export at least two weeks before the org retirement date to leave time to verify completeness.