Data transfer

Data transfer is a crucial feature that enables you to export and import data in various formats as well as moving data between tables in the same or to different databases.

Note: The data transfer operation runs in the background, allowing you to continue working with your database during the export or import process. However, try to avoid changing data in the tables that have been selected for export or import until the process is complete.

You can transfer data from one database to another or export it in different types and formats:

• CSV
• XLSX (Excel spreadsheet)
• HTML
• XML
• TXT
• JSON
• Markdown files
• SQL statements
• Source code arrays

The process of exporting data follows a similar procedure for the supported formats. Therefore, in this guide, we will focus on the data exporting process using the CSV format.

1. Select the table or tables you want to export. In the context menu, choose Export Data.
   Note: you can also export data from custom SQL query results. To do that, choose Export data in the results context menu.

   

2. In the window that appears, choose CSV and click Next.

   

3. Set your data extraction options (how the data will be read from the tables). This may affect the extraction's performance. And set the export format option. They are specific to the data format you chose in step 2:

   

   Setting name	Description
   Maximum threads	Number of threads used for data extraction.
   Extract type	Defines the method of data extraction (Single query or Multiple queries).
   Segment size	The size of data segments to be extracted at a time (active while Multiple queries are selected as an Extract type).
   Open new connection(s)	Opens a new physical connection for data reading, recommended if you plan to continue working with the database during the export process.
   Select row count	Queries row count before performing export to track progress, but may cause performance issues in some cases.
   Fetch size	Number of rows the driver retrieves in one batch from the database.

   Tip: The Maximum threads option is active when exporting data from multiple tables. It is recommended to set the number of threads to match the number of cores in your computer for optimal performance.

4. Configure the format settings.

   At this stage you configure the format settings for the output file. These settings determine how the data will be presented and encoded in the exported file.

   

   Setting name	Description
   Formatting	Selects the formatting settings for the exported data. Reed more in the related article
   Binaries	Specifies how binary data is represented in the export.
   Encoding	Sets the character encoding for the exported file.
   Value display format	Chooses the format for displaying values in the export.
   Configure columns	Allows you to set which columns to export. Configure the columns to export by clicking Configure. In the Action column, use the down arrow on a row to toggle between skip or export for that column/table.

   Note: The options within the Exporter settings section will vary and provide specific controls tailored to the format selected for export.

5. Set options for output files or clipboards.

   

Tip: You can export files to a remote file system via Cloud Storage using the Browser remote file system button . This feature is exclusively available to users of the Ultimate Edition, Team Edition, and CloudBeaver versions.

6. Review what you want to format and which format you will export. You can also save all your settings as a task in this step or change the task variables:

   

7. Press finish. See extraction progress. You can keep working with your database during the export process as the extraction will be performed in the background.

   

You can import data to your database from CSV, XLSX, and XML files.

1. Select one or more tables to which you want to import data. In the context menu, choose Import Data:

   

2. In the window that appears, choose CSV and click Next.

   

3. Select the input CSV file for each table you want to import. You can change the Importer settings (format specific) during this step:

   

4. Set mappings. Please refer to our mapping process guide for more detailed information.

   

5. Set options for loading data in the database. These options may affect the loading's performance:

   

   Read our guide on Data Import and Replace to learn more about the replacing method option.

6. Review which file(s) and to which table(s) you will import. You can also save all your settings as a task in this step:

   

7. Press finish. See extraction progress. You can keep working with your database during the export process as the data loading will be performed in the background. In the end, you will see the following status message:

   

Note: This feature is available in Lite, Enterprise, Ultimate and Team editions only.

1) Choose the database table (or tables) you want to import data into. Do this by right-clicking on the table name in the Database Navigator section and then clicking on Import Data.

2) In the window that appears, choose XLSX and click Next.

3) In the following window, choose the file that contains the data you wish to import into the table. Select the appropriate settings described below, then click Next.

5) In the next window, set XLSX-to-table mappings. Please refer to our mapping process guide for more detailed information.

6) Select your data load settings in the subsequent window, and then click Next. For more information, please refer to our article's section Data load settings article.

7) In the final window, you can review all the settings you selected earlier. If you missed something, you could go Back and fix it. When you are ready, finish the import by clicking Proceed.

8) If the XLSX file is valid and there are no errors, you will see a notification window with information about the completion of the task. You can keep working with your database during export, as the data loading will be performed in the background.

When importing from Excel files, DBeaver provides additional features to enhance your data transfer experience:

• Allow importing multiple sheets into different tables: DBeaver allows you to import multiple sheets from a single XLSX file into different tables in your database.

1) Select the database table (or tables) where you want to import data. Do this by right-clicking on the table name in the Database Navigator section, then clicking on Import Data.

2) In the window that appears, select XML and then click Next.

3) In the following window, select the XML file that contains the data you want to import, then click Next.

4) In the next window set XLSX-to-table mappings. Please refer to our guide for detailed information on the mapping process.

5) select your data load settings in the subsequent window, and then click Next. For more information, please refer to our article's section Data load settings.

6) In the final window, you can review all the settings you selected earlier. If you missed something, you can go back and adjust it. Once you are happy with everything, finish the import by clicking Proceed.

7) If the file is valid and there are no errors, you will see a notification window with information about the completion of the task. You can keep working with your database during export, as the data loading will be performed in the background.

DBeaver offers seamless data migration capabilities, allowing you to transfer data from one database table to another. For more detailed instructions and insights on data migration, you can refer to our Data Migration guide.