How to Export All Salesforce Notes & Enhanced Notes as a CSV File

Salesforce stores notes in two different formats across two different objects. Getting all of them into a single, structured CSV — with parent record context on every row — is exactly what teams need for migrations, audits, and data handoffs. Here is how to do it.

Two Types of Notes in Salesforce

Classic Notes — stored on the Note object. Created in Salesforce Classic, plain text, directly linked to a parent record via ParentId.
Enhanced Notes (Lightning Notes) — stored as ContentNote records under ContentDocument. Created in Lightning Experience, support rich text formatting (HTML), linked via ContentDocumentLink.

Because these two types live in completely different objects with different data structures, exporting them together into one consistent CSV requires a tool that understands both — and can join the data with context from the parent record.

What the Native Salesforce Data Export Gives You

The Note object export gives you rows with Id, ParentId, Title, Body, and a few metadata fields — no parent record name or related context
The ContentNote export via ContentDocument gives you the note HTML in the Content field — still no parent record details
Joining note data with parent record fields requires additional SOQL queries, relationship traversal, and manual data manipulation in Excel or a script

For a Salesforce-to-CRM migration, simply having the note body is not enough — the destination system needs to know which contact, account, or case the note belongs to, and what that parent record's key identifiers are.

What a Proper CSV Export Should Include

A structured, migration-ready CSV of Salesforce notes should contain:

Note Title and Body (plain text, stripped of HTML for Classic; cleaned HTML for Enhanced Notes)
Note Owner, Created Date, and Last Modified Date
Parent record Name, Id, and any additional parent fields you choose (e.g. Account Number, Contact Email)
Note type identifier — Classic Note or Enhanced Note — so the destination system can handle them differently if needed

Common Use Cases for Notes CSV Export

Salesforce org migration — moving notes to a new Salesforce org or another CRM, importing them via Data Loader or the destination API
Audit and compliance — providing a complete, flat record of all notes associated with a given set of accounts or cases
Data analysis — loading notes into a spreadsheet, BI tool, or database for sentiment analysis, keyword frequency, or historical review
Org decommissioning — archiving all notes before an org is retired, ensuring nothing is lost
Team handoffs — sharing a complete activity history of notes with a new account owner or support team

Step-by-Step: Export Notes & Enhanced Notes as CSV with SFDC File Exporter

SFDC File Exporter exports both Classic Notes and Enhanced Notes into a single structured CSV — and lets you include fields from the parent object on every row. No SOQL experience needed, no scripting, no manual joins in Excel.

Download and install SFDC File Exporter on Windows, Mac, or Linux
Log in to Salesforce using OAuth or your username, password, and security token
Navigate to the Notes CSV Export tab
Choose whether to export Classic Notes, Enhanced Notes, or both
Select the parent object (Account, Contact, Case, Opportunity, or any custom object)
Choose which parent object fields to include as additional columns (e.g. Account Name, Account Number, Contact Email)
Optionally filter by date range, owner, or a custom SOQL WHERE clause
Click Export — a single CSV file is generated with one note per row and all selected columns

CSV Output Structure

Each row in the output CSV represents one note and includes:

Note ID, Title, Body (plain text), Type (Classic / Enhanced), Owner, Created Date, Last Modified Date
Parent Record ID, Parent Record Name, and any additional parent fields you selected

The result is a flat, import-ready file you can load directly into another CRM, upload via Data Loader, or open in Excel for review.

Select parent fields like Account Number or Contact Email to make the CSV immediately usable for matching records in your destination system — without a separate VLOOKUP step.

Why SFDC File Exporter Is the Right Tool

Joining Classic Notes and Enhanced Notes data with parent record context in a single export requires querying multiple Salesforce objects, traversing relationship links, and flattening the result — tasks that normally require a developer or a custom script.

SFDC File Exporter handles all of this automatically: it queries both note types, resolves parent relationships, pulls the fields you select, and writes everything to one clean CSV. If your team is migrating, auditing, or archiving Salesforce notes, SFDC File Exporter is the fastest and most complete solution available — download it free and run your first export in minutes.