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Choose what to export

Cycle admins export a cycle from one export flow. Each export creates one ZIP file, and Windmill emails you when the file is ready. The ZIP file can contain:
  • CSV: One spreadsheet for each selected stage.
  • PDF: One review packet for each selected reviewee.
Managers can select Export on the My Team review page to download CSV data for their team. Exports are available for active, paused, and completed cycles. They are not available for archived cycles.

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Export a cycle

1

Open the cycle export

Open the cycle from Review Cycles. Select Configure cycle, then select Export.
2

Select the stages and questions

Select one or more stages. When you select a stage, Windmill selects all of its questions. To remove a question, expand the stage and clear the question.Each question shows its type and whether it is hidden from employees. To select every stage and question, select Select all.
3

Select the reviewees

Select the people whose reviews you want to export. Use the search and filters to narrow the list.
4

Choose the format and options

Select CSV, PDF, or both. The PDF option is available only when you select at least one question.Include answers is on by default. If you turn it off, the CSV lists only the selected questions, with no reviews, and the PDF shows the questions without answers.
5

Review and start the export

Check the summary and the list of files. To remove a stage CSV, remove it from the list. To remove all PDFs, remove PDF packets.Select the export button. Its label shows the formats, for example Export CSV & PDF. Windmill emails you when the ZIP file is ready.
6

Download the ZIP file

Select Download export in the email.Only the cycle admin who started the export can use the link, and they must still be a cycle admin. The link is valid for 48 hours.
Exports can contain confidential feedback. Check the files before you share them, and share them only with people who need access.
If the export contains questions that are hidden from employees, Windmill shows a warning before you start the export. Check these files before you share them with an employee.

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ZIP file contents

The ZIP file has this layout:
  • Stage CSV files: One file for each CSV stage, at the top level of the ZIP file. Windmill names each file after its stage, for example manager-review.csv.
  • packets/ folder: One PDF for each reviewee. Each file name contains the reviewee’s name and email address.
  • manifest.csv: One row for each file, with its file name, file kind, employee name, preferred email, status, and error code.
If the export is incomplete, use manifest.csv to find the files that Windmill could not create. Start a new export for those files or contact support@gowindmill.com. If Windmill cannot create any file, the export fails and you do not get an email.

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CSV contents

Each stage gets its own CSV. Each row is one review. It shows who the review is about, who wrote it, whether it is done, and the answers. In the manager review CSV, rating questions that went through calibration show the manager’s rating and the calibrated rating in separate columns. To see only who is done, deselect all the questions in the stage and keep Include answers on. The CSV keeps one row for each review, without the answer columns.

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PDF packet contents

Each PDF contains only the completed reviews that you selected. Draft and unsubmitted reviews are not included. For a complete record, export after all reviews and calibration are complete. The PDF shows the review period, generation date, reviewer names, selected questions, and submitted answers. It marks reviews as completed but does not show submission times. If you turn off Include answers, the PDF shows the questions only. If you include yourself in an export, your packet includes your self review only. Manager, peer, and upward reviews about you show the reviewer and status, but not the answers.

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Export final ratings

Include the manager review stage and its rating questions in the export.
  • CSV: Shows separate Manager Rating and Calibrated Rating columns for each rating question that calibration covers.
  • PDF: Shows effective submitted answers. Where calibration changed an answer, it shows separate Manager Rating and Calibrated Rating values.
Recommended values become final only after the assigned manager accepts them.

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Export through the API

Use the packet export API with an API key belonging to a cycle admin. It returns one packet per included reviewee and can filter the cycle’s saved reviewee list. The response includes stage status, dates, completion totals, questions, and visibility settings. Review data includes reviewers, submission status, submitted answers, and answer submission times. Manager and self reviews also include a review submission time.
  • submittedOnly: false: Includes incomplete review records with null submitted answers. Draft answer content is never included.
  • submittedOnly: true: Omits incomplete reviews. Stage completion totals stay the same.
The API supports active, paused, and completed cycles. It rejects archived cycles.

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Export calibration results

Applied changes and accepted recommendations appear as effective manager answers in CSV, PDF, and API exports. CSV files and PDFs show both the original manager value and the calibrated value. The packet API returns the effective answer without a separate original manager value. These exports do not include calibration comments, calibration discussions, review-sharing comments, or sharing history.