Export and import data

  • Updated
This topic is for CMS administrators and developers with administrative access rights.

You can export and import data between Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) websites. This function is widely used by developers building functionality in a test or development environment. When you complete work, and the information is ready for the production environment, use the export and import features to transfer the data between websites.

Export data

You can export the following: content items, content types, frames, dynamic property definitions, tabs, categories, files, and visitor groups.

Select a type of item to export to display the available items.

Export data between CMS websites

To export content items

  1. Go to Settings > Export data.
  2. Select an item to export. If your content items contain multiple language versions, all language versions are included in the export package.
  3. Optional: Select any of the checkboxes:
    • Include sub-items – Exports the item's children also.
    • Export files that the pages link to – Exports global assets (such as blocks and images and so on) that the selected item links to.
      Local assets (saved under For this Page) are included in the export.
    • Automatically export dependent content types – This option is mostly used for older untyped pages and specifies that the content type is included in the export. For newer, typed pages or if the import website already has this content type, selecting this option is unnecessary.
  4. Click Select to accept your export settings.
  5. Click Export to download the file package. Your export package is saved to your web browser's default download location.
To update a single content item through export and import, deselect Include sub items and export the item. Then import the item and make sure Update existing content items with matching ID is selected.

Import data

Permissions when importing – When you import any content items, such as pages, they get the same permissions as the permissions of the selected destination item. They do not retain the permissions they had before they were exported. (This is the same behavior with permissions as when copying and pasting a page in the tree.)

With the Import Data function, you can retrieve information exported from the same or another Optimizely website.

Import data from a website

  1. Go to Settings > Import Data.
  2. Click Choose File and select the file package to import. Files must end with *.episerverdata for the import to work.
  3. Select the destination for the imported files.
  4. Select or deselect Update existing content items with matching ID:
    • Select the check box if you want to keep the same globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) for future imported items (such as pages, blocks, and files) as they had on the exporting site. The import function checks whether a GUID already exists and if it does, that item is updated (if the imported item had a changed date later than the existing item). This means that content items with the same IDs are replaced instead of added.

      If your exported pages contain links to global blocks and media, you must select Export files that the pages link to when exporting for the linked global blocks and media to be updated during the import.

    • Deselect the checkbox if you want to import items with new IDs instead. If you import to the same website as you exported from, blocks and media are merged into folders with the same name in the assets panel.

      Duplicated items get a number added to the item name. For example, exporting item ABC and importing it as a copy on the same website results in two items, namely ABC and ABC2. This also affects the URL, which in the case of the copied item would be www.examplesite.com/abc2.

  5. If your export package contains multiple language versions, select All if you want to import all language versions or one specific language to import only that language version.
  6. Click Upload and Verify File to verify the file content. The files are read and checked, and verification information displays.
  7. Click Begin Import.