If you have ever needed to share a complete customer story with someone outside Dynamics 365, you will know the drill: export a view, track down emails, save attachments, paste details into spreadsheets, then zip it all by hand. It is slow, risky, and easy to miss context.
Infinity Buttons: Record to ZIP is the solution that lets you export a single record and its related data into a tidy ZIP file in just a few clicks. Inside the ZIP you will find well-structured CSVs, ready to access and share.
What Record to ZIP Includes
From any record (for example, a Contact, Account, Case, or a custom table), you can choose which fields to include and pull in related records so the story is complete. Activities such as emails, notes, and their attachments can be included too. The export lands as a single ZIP file with a clear folder structure and CSVs for each dataset, ready to open in Excel or load into another system.
If you standardise reporting or compliance packs, recent versions of Infinity Buttons add configurable templates so teams do not have to remember field lists each time. Create a template once and reuse it across your records and teams.
Why this Matters for Sharing Outside CRM
Many stakeholders do not have a Dynamics licence. Record to ZIP gives them the data in a format they already use, without asking IT to build one-off exports. It is ideal for:
Stakeholder briefings where a project manager or executive needs a full picture without CRM access.
Vendor and partner collaboration when a case, opportunity, or incident needs context, including historic activities and files.
Audits and assessments that require point-in-time evidence bundled in one place.
Training and knowledge transfer packs for new team members.
Record to ZIP is a quick, configurable way to capture and share an entire record with its relationships, exactly what these scenarios demand.
Compliance & DSAR Use Cases
Responding to data subject access requests (DSARs) is a common headache. You must find a person’s data across tables, activities, and attachments, then package it clearly. Record to ZIP helps teams gather that content in minutes while you apply your own review and redaction steps. Magnetism has written about practical GDPR approaches for Dynamics 365, and Microsoft’s guidance sets out the controller responsibilities for handling DSARs in the Dynamics 365 cloud.
Record to ZIP can sit neatly inside that operating model as your first-pass data collection step.
How It Works
- Open the record you want to export.
- Click “Record to ZIP.”
- Select fields from the primary table and choose related tables to include.
- Tick activities and attachments if relevant.
- Apply a template for consistency across teams.
- Download the ZIP and share securely.
This model keeps control in the hands of business users while giving administrators the ability to standardise selections through templates.
Why not just Use Built-in Exports?
Microsoft’s built-in data export paths are limited when you need a complete pack with relationships and files. A previous article from Magnetism compares the pain of piecemeal exports or manual copy-pasting with a button-driven approach that outputs CSVs inside a ZIP, saving hours and reducing mistakes.
Real-World Examples
Customer care handover: Export a case with its timeline, emails, and documents to brief an external service partner. The partner sees the entire history without a CRM login.
Sales due diligence: Package an opportunity with related contacts, activities, and notes for legal review. Templates ensure every pack includes the same fields each time.
Privacy request: Start your DSAR by exporting all data linked to the data subject, then review, redact, and deliver using your standard process.
Related Tools that Pair Nicely
If you are streamlining everyday CRM work, two other Infinity Buttons are worth a look:
- Clone Record: Quickly duplicate a record to speed up data entry and reduce human error across repetitive processes. Great for creating templates or replicating successful patterns.
- Record to PDF: When you need a printable, shareable report rather than CSVs, Magnetism also offers a tool to export CRM data to PDF with customisation options.
You can browse the Infinity Buttons collection to see how these tools work together to remove admin and reduce copy-pasting across your day.
Getting Started
Most teams begin by identifying two or three high-value scenarios, such as DSARs, audits, or partner handovers. Define what “complete” looks like (tables, fields, and activity types), then set up a template so every export is consistent.
Prefer a guided walkthrough or help choosing the right setup?