User Guide

Welcome to ViewExport! This guide will help you get started with uploading, viewing, and searching your Slack workspace exports.

How to Export Slack Data and View It with ViewExport

Slack lets Workspace Admins export messages in a ZIP archive of JSON files. This guide shows how to export Slack data by plan type (Free, Pro, Business+, Enterprise Grid), and how to view it easily with ViewExport.com, a tool for browsing Slack JSON exports.

Note: Only Workspace Owners or Admins can export data. Regular members must ask an admin.

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Creating Your Account

1. Visit the ViewExport pricing page and choose a plan
2. Enter your email address and create a secure password, or sign up with OAuth
3. Verify your email address via the confirmation link sent to your inbox
4. Choose your subscription plan based on your needs
5. Complete your profile setup

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First Time Dashboard Login

The Dashboard is your central hub for managing Slack exports. It displays:

- Export Statistics: Total number of exports, channels, messages, and users
- Quick Actions: Upload new exports or view existing ones
- Recent Activity: Latest uploads and processing status
- Data Usage: Current storage usage vs. your plan limit

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Step-by-Step: Exporting Your Slack Data

Slack’s export tool works differently depending on your plan:

- Free & Pro: Export includes only public channels. Free plan excludes files older than 90 days and limits visible messages.
- Business+ & Enterprise Grid: With Compliance Export enabled and approved, Admins can include private channels and DMs. Otherwise, same limits as Pro.

Exports come as ZIP files of JSONs (one per channel, plus metadata). These include links to shared files, not the files themselves.

How to Export from Slack

1. You must be a Workspace Admin in Slack
2. Go to Settings & Administration → Workspace Settings
3. Click Import/Export Data → Export Data
4. Choose your date range and start the export
5. (If eligible) Choose All channels and conversations to include DMs/private messages.
5. You'll get an email from Slack when it's done
6. Visit the export page, click Download, and save the ZIP file.

The ZIP file is what you will upload to ViewExport.

(However, you can of course unzip it to see the folders and JSON files directly. Private messages only appear if Compliance Export is enabled. Note: DMs and private channel messages require Compliance Export access

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Using ViewExport.com to Read Slack Exports

Slack JSONs are hard to read manually. ViewExport.com turns them into a readable, searchable archive—no coding required.

Importing Your JSON Archive

Once you have logged in, click "Upload" and you'll see the following screen:

The plan you're on will determine your file size limit; Enterprise customers have unlimited data, but pay for overages over the base allotment.

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Processing Status

After uploading, your export will go through several stages:

- Uploading: File is being transferred
- Processing: Extracting and indexing messages
- Completed: Ready to view and search
- Failed: An error occurred (see error message for details, and contact us for support if you're not clear on what went wrong)
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Overview Of Your Exports

Navigate to "View Exports" to see all your uploads:

- Each card shows export name, upload date, and statistics
- Status indicators show if an export is ready or still processing
- Click any export to open it

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Export Navigation: Channels, DMs, Group DMs

Inside an export:

1. Channel List: Browse all channels in the left sidebar
2. Main Message Timeline: View messages in chronological order
3. Timestamps: Exact date and time for each message

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Searching Messages

1. Click the "search messages" button
2. Enter keywords, and (optionally) date range, channel, or user
3. Press Enter to search across this export

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Saved Searches

1. Perform a search
2. Click "Save Search" 
3. Name your search for easy access later
4. Find saved searches in your account menu

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Managing Your Account

Access your profile to:

- Update email address and password
- Set notification preferences
- Choose display theme (light/dark)
- Configure two-factor authentication
- Manage audit trail, user access, and admin logs

Click "Accounts" to view your workspaces, add and manage team members, and set roles and permissions:

- Invite team members via email
- Set permissions (Admin, Manager, Member)
- Revoke access when needed

Note that you will need to contact us if you want to change the region where your data is stored, such as from US to EU or otherwise.

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Understanding Your Data Usage

- Account Data Usage: Total size of all uploaded exports in the billing period, even ones you have already deleted
- Usage Limit: Maximum amount of total data uploads allowed by your plan, in your billing period
- Usage Bar: Visual indicator of consumption
- Warnings: Alerts when approaching limits

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Troubleshooting Common Issues

Upload Failures

- Ensure file is a valid Slack export ZIP, not an individual .JSON file
- Check file size against plan limits, noting that size is determined by the unzipped file size, not the zipped file size
- Verify stable internet connection
- Try uploading in smaller batches

Getting Help

Not seeing what you need in this tutorial? Contact us using the in-app support button, or just email help[at]viewexport.com to reach our desk.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who Should Use Slack Exports + ViewExport?

• Legal Teams & eDiscovery: For investigations or compliance, use Slack’s Compliance Export and ViewExport to search, filter, and export threads as PDFs. (source)
• Community Leaders Leaving Slack (e.g. to Circle.so): Export archives to preserve history as you migrate. Slack’s Free plan limits access to 90-day history. (source)
• Free Plan Users: Avoid data loss beyond 90 days. Regular exports + ViewExport keep everything accessible. (source)
• Companies Switching to Teams or Discord: Export your Slack data for safekeeping, migration, or reference. Use ViewExport to locate and document key info.

What file formats does ViewExport accept?

ViewExport only accepts official Slack export ZIP files. These files contain:
- JSON files with message data
- User information
- Channel metadata
- File attachments (if included in export)

Can I search across multiple exports?

Yes! The search feature automatically searches across all your uploaded exports, making it easy to find messages regardless of when they were exported.

Can multiple people access the same exports?

Yes, and if you wish you can create secure shared links to certain search results.

Is my data secure?

Yes, we take security seriously:
- All data encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3)
- Encrypted at rest (AES-256)
- Secure AWS S3 storage
- Regular security audits
- Designed to support your GDPR compliance

Read more here.

Who can see my exports?

Only you and team members you explicitly invite can access your exports. Data is never:
- Made public
- Shared with third parties
- Used for advertising
- Analyzed without permission

Where is my data stored?

ViewExport offers regional data storage:
- US Region: Amazon Web Services (US-East)
- EU Region: Amazon Web Services (EU-West)

You're automatically directed to the appropriate region based on your location.

How do I enforce 2FA across my account?

Click your profile picture in the top right -> Accounts -> Then, click on your account (most users just have one workspace)

Click "Edit Account" -> then, check the "Require two-factor authentication for all team members" box below -> click "Update Account"

What's next?

Now you know how to export Slack data and how to read Slack exports with ViewExport.com. Whether for compliance, backups, or migration, this tool makes JSON exports readable and useful.

No more raw files. Just searchable, shareable conversations.

Start your account now. Happy archiving!