The Vehicle Maintenance Log can export your data in two ways. The data can be exported as a comma separated value (.csv) file. Or it can generate a report in your browser which is suitable for printing. This allows for data backup or analyzing your data in a spreadsheet.
On the topic of data backup...
The Vehicle Maintenance Log is usually backed up nightly to at least one other computer. While I'm not about to offer any sort of data reliability guarantee, I personally have a lot of entries in the Vehicle Maintenance Log, and don't want to lose my data either. So I regularly test the automated backup solutions. If you are really paranoid about data loss, make hardcopy records of your maintenance log... I do.
A good technique is to print the report to a PDF file for archiving.
Because computer systems are continually evolving, there is no way to really ensure that data entered in the maintenance log will be readable in 20+ years. The best method for ensuring the long term readability of your log data, is to periodically print your records.
Browser Note: Most modern browsers will print the report properly. Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Safari have all been tested successfully. Older versions of Safari may crash when the report is printed. Upgrading to version 1.3 or later fixes this.
The data data from your maintenance log can be exported as a comma separated value (.csv) file. The .csv file can be used to backup the data or analyze it in a spreadsheet.
The following changes are made to the data to format it as a .csv file: