Location of exported data

When you run the ExportData tool, you specify where it stores the files that it exports from Connected. You can specify this destination as any folder to which your local computer account has write access, regardless of whether it is on the local computer, a remote computer, or a removable storage device. The tool uses the specified location as the root of a folder hierarchy having the following syntax:

destination\request\user\device\originalFilePath\filename

For a description of the variables that this syntax uses, see the tool's command-line Secondary Options information.

While exporting files, the tool uses a combination of special folder naming conventions, invalid character handling, and truncation methods to ensure that this folder hierarchy meets the path limit and accepted set of characters for the destination's operating system. For example, suppose that you export the file C:\Reports\June\sales.txt from Jane Smith's Windows-based backup set to the destination C:\Exports. If you name the request for the export Request1, the tool exports the file as C:\Exports\Request1\u1\d1\p1\C\Reports\June\sales.txt.

The following list describes the special processing that the tool performs on various items during exports:

• Users. Creates one folder per user.

  The tool creates a separate folder for each user in the request, regardless of whether it exports any data for that user. To shorten the user portion of the path's length, the tool identifies users by shorthand in the form u1, u2, u3, and so on. The file that maps the shorthand notation to actual user names is destination\request\userMap.csv.

• Devices. Creates one folder per device.

  The tool creates a separate folder for the user's Connected sync folder (if it exists) and all backup devices with the same operating system as the one on which the tool runs, regardless of whether any exported data originates from those locations. To shorten the device portion of the path's length, the tool identifies devices by shorthand in the form d1, d2, d3, and so on. The file that maps the shorthand notation to actual device names is destination\request\user\deviceMap.csv.

  How the tool represents actual device names in the deviceMap.csv file depends on the type of exported data:

  • For backup files, the device name is the name of the computer.

  • For sync files, the device name is always 'Connected Files'.

• Windows drive letters. Removes the colon from the original path's drive letter in Windows-based destinations.

  For example, an original path C:\temp\myReports becomes C\temp\myReports.

• Reserved characters. Logs the names of files or folders it is unable to export because the item's name is either reserved or contains characters reserved for the destination's operating system. The tool logs the information to destination\request\user\data_export.log.

  See which names and characters are invalid.

  The follow table identifies the reserved characters and names for Mac and Windows operating systems (OS).

  Destination OS	Reserved characters	Reserved names
  macOS	/  (forward slash)	none
  Windows	*  (asterisk) \  (backslash) :  (colon) "  (double quote) /  (forward slash) >  (right angle bracket) <  (left angle bracket) ?  (question mark) |  (vertical bar or pipe) any control character	AUX CON COM[1-9] LPT[1-9] NUL PRN listed names that include a file extension, such as AUX.TXT any name that contains a trailing space or period (.)

• Long path names (Windows only). Truncates paths that are too long for the destination's operating system.

  The tool adds metadata about exported files by prefixing a combination of the destination, user, and device to the original path of files that it exports. If the derived path exceeds the limit that the destination's operating system supports, the tool truncates the path and stores the mapping of truncated paths to original locations in the file destination/request/user/device/pathMap.csv. See details.

  The tool supports two methods to truncate long path names:

  • Simple truncation. The tool uses this method for devices with 50 or fewer paths that exceed the limit. Paths with simple truncation have the following syntax:

    destination\request\user\device\p#\filename

    Here, p# replaces the entire original path to the exported file. If multiple files have the same filename, the tool prevents conflicts by incrementing the number that it appends to p for each file.

    For example, C:\Very\Long\Path...\June\report.txt and C:\Very\Long\Path...\July\report.txt become p1\report.txt and p2\report.txt, respectively.

  • Advanced truncation. The tool uses this method for devices with more than 50 paths that exceed the limit. Paths with advanced truncation have the following syntax:

    destination\request\user\device\p#\trunactedPath\filename

    In this method, p# replaces enough of the leading portion of the original file path so that the remaining derived path no longer exceeds the system's limit. The tool increments the number that it appends to p for each unique section of path it removes.

    For example, depending on the length of the derived path's prefix, the original file locations C:\Very\Long\Path...\June\Reports\report.txt and C:\Very\Long\Path...\July\Reports\report.txt might become p1\June\Reports\report.txt and p1\July\Reports\report.txt, respectively. Here p1 maps to C:\Very\Long\Path... in both cases. However, if the metadata prefix is very long, the tool might remove more of the original path resulting in p1\report.txt and p2\report.txt, where p1 and p2 map to different paths.