The PhpMyAdmin utility lets you EXPORT databases, meaning you can get all the contents of a database in a text file. This is useful for creating a backup copy or transferring that content to a different database engine.
1. Access PhpMyAdmin using your administrator username and password for the database you want to export.
2. Once inside PhpMyAdmin, select the database you want to export to a file.
3. Once you’ve selected the database, click on the “Export” link.
4. A new window will open. Here, configure the options to download the database file.
- Click “Select All” and then “SQL”. This will import all tables, and the output format will be SQL.
- Select the following options in the “Structure” section:
- Select the following options in the “Data” section:
- Select the “Send” option to have the resulting file sent directly to you. The file will be named as specified in “File Name Template”. The “File Character Set” is important; you may keep it as UTF-8, but if you change it, remember your selection. You can choose compression if you want the generated file to take up less space. To proceed, click “Continue”. The system will take a few seconds to send the file; you can save it wherever you like.
- Once you receive the file, you’ll have a copy of the database on your disk, ready for import.