Download a recent backup

Backups include sheet data, comments, and attachments. They keep your data secure.

Who can use this?

Plans:

  • Business
  • Enterprise

You need Viewer permissions or higher to request a sheet or workspace backup. For recurring workspace backups, you must be the workspace Owner or Admin.

Backup contents

  • Backups include sheet data, comments, and attachments
  • Backups don't include reports, dashboards, formulas, workflows, cross-sheet references, formatting information, or custom configurations.
  • Workspace backups include sheet data from the workspace, not its structure. Backups keep your data secure. However, restoring your solution will require rebuilding each Smartsheet item.

Backup expiration period

  • US plans: Backups are available for download for 30 days following the backup date. After 30 days, the links to the backups become unavailable.
  • EU and Gov plans: Backups can be downloaded within a seven-day period following the backup date. After this timeframe, the links to access the backups will become inactive and no longer function.

Download a recent backup from the workspace panel

  1. On the left Navigation Bar, select Open workspace panel.
  2. Navigate to the applicable workspace and select the kebab menu either at the top right corner of the workspace panel or to the right of any sheet or folder within the workspace.
    • For workspaces, you can select either Backup now or Schedule recurring backup
    • For sheets and folders, select Backup now
  3. Select View recent backups.
  4. In the Recent Backups window, locate the backup file you want to retrieve and select Download Backup.

Download a recent backup from Browse

You can also download a recent backup from Browse:

  1. On the left Navigation Bar, select Browse.  
  2. Right-click the sheet, folder, or workspace name in the left panel and select Request Backup or Schedule Recurring Backup.
  3. Select View Recent Backups.
  4. In the Recent Backups of Sheets window, select Download Backup.

Things to know about downloading backups

  • Sheet formatting isn't included in the backup file. For example, you may lose text wrapping. You can reformat your data in a spreadsheet program before importing it into Smartsheet. 
  • If your sheet includes hierarchy (indenting or outdenting to create subtasks), the rows are similarly grouped in outline format in the exported Excel file. Select the + icon to the left of the row numbers in Excel to expand any collapsed rows to reveal their subtasks.