Rich Text Area fields in Salesforce can hold detailed formatted content — descriptions, specifications, notes, and instructions. Exporting that content as a readable, shareable PDF is not possible through any native Salesforce feature. Here is how to do it properly.
What Is a Rich Text Area Field in Salesforce?
A Rich Text Area (RTA) field supports formatted input: bold, italic, bullet lists, numbered lists, tables, hyperlinks, and embedded images. It is commonly used in objects like:
- Knowledge Articles — detailed solution content
- Cases — problem descriptions and resolution steps
- Products / Price Books — product specifications and feature lists
- Contracts and Quotes — terms, conditions, and custom clause blocks
- Custom Objects — any object where teams enter long-form structured text
Why You Cannot Export RTA Content as PDF Natively
- Salesforce Data Export downloads RTA fields as raw HTML strings inside a CSV — not as a rendered document
- Salesforce Reports and List Views truncate long text fields and strip formatting
- Visualforce PDF rendering requires custom development and page templates
- There is no built-in "export to PDF" button for individual field values on a record
Common Reasons Teams Need RTA-to-PDF Export
- Compliance and legal archival — preserving contract terms, approval notes, or audit trail entries as immutable PDF documents
- Org migration — keeping a readable copy of Knowledge Article content before moving to a new platform
- Customer-facing deliverables — sharing product descriptions, proposals, or case resolutions as formatted PDFs
- Decommissioning — archiving all field content from a retiring org so it remains readable after the org is closed
Step-by-Step: Export Rich Text Fields as PDF with SFDC File Exporter
SFDC File Exporter renders the HTML content of any Salesforce Rich Text Area field into a properly formatted PDF — including fonts, styles, tables, lists, and embedded images. No Visualforce template, no developer, no AppExchange package required.
- 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 Rich Text Field Export tab
- Select the Salesforce Object containing the field (standard or custom)
- Select the Rich Text Area field you want to export
- Choose Export as PDF as the output format
- Optionally filter records by date, owner, or a custom SOQL WHERE clause
- Click Export — a PDF is generated per record and saved to your chosen local folder
Output Format and File Organisation
- One PDF file per record — named using the record's Name or ID
- Full HTML rendering: headings, bold/italic, tables, bullet lists, numbered lists
- Embedded images resolved and included in the PDF
- Output folder follows the same structure as other SFDC File Exporter exports — easy to navigate after a bulk run
Why SFDC File Exporter Is the Right Tool
Generating PDFs from Salesforce Rich Text fields traditionally requires either a custom Visualforce page, a Lightning component, or a third-party document generation tool — all of which require developer involvement and additional licensing costs.
SFDC File Exporter handles the entire pipeline — API call, HTML rendering, embedded image resolution, and PDF generation — in a single desktop application you install once and run in minutes. If you need to archive or share Rich Text Area content from Salesforce as PDF files, SFDC File Exporter is the fastest path to get there.