How is this different from the backup Zoho already gives me?
Zoho's own export is a set of CSV files, with the attachments in a separate zip and a link that expires in days. Save My Copy gives you one SQLite file for each run. The rows and the attachment bytes from that run are in the same file. That file is one consistent snapshot: a query sees the contacts, the accounts, and the files as they were together at backup time, not a mix of exports taken on different days.
The file is durable. Durable means you can still open it years later, with tools that are not ours and not Zoho's. The format is published, and the US Library of Congress lists SQLite as a recommended format for datasets. You do not need our website to read a file you have already downloaded.
You open it with a SQLite program that has a window, tables, and a box for queries. Two free, open-source programs do that on Mac, Windows, and Linux:
- DB Browser for SQLite. The download page has the Windows installer, the macOS app, and a Linux AppImage. The project is on GitHub.
- SQLiteStudio. Installers for the same three systems are on that site. The source is on GitHub.
SQL is the way you ask the file a question. The table names follow the Zoho module, and the column names follow the Zoho field names in that snapshot. A contact list for one account looks like this:
select "Full_Name", "Email"
from "crm_Contacts"
where "Account_Name" = 'Northwind';A single field is the same idea with one column:
select "Email"
from "crm_Contacts"
where "id" = '3652397000001234001';The column names in your file are whatever Zoho returned for that module. Open the table in the browser first, then use the names you see.