# Logs, export and backups

> Preview a PDF log on the device, export your data, and back up a project.

Log can do more than capture data: you can preview a finished **PDF log** on the
device, **export** your data, and **back up** a project - all from the app.

## Preview a PDF log

Preview a borehole or trial pit log for a location, rendered from your
configuration's log templates, without leaving the field.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the log preview">
    From a location, open the log preview.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Choose the log and scale">
    Pick the **Log** to render, and a **Depth Type** - **Scale** or **Meters Per
    Page** - then a scale if needed.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Preview and share">
    Log generates the PDF and shows it on the device. From there you can **share**
    it - for example by email.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Callout type="note" title="Previewing needs a connection">
  PDF logs are rendered in the cloud, so previewing a log needs an internet
  connection.
</Callout>

## Export data

You can **export** a location's data as CSV and send it on - the app prepares the
files and hands them to your device's share or email, so you can get data off the
device quickly when you need to.

## Backups

The **Backups** screen lists your projects so you can recover a project's data if
you need to. Tap a project and choose **Share** to send its backup files out. It
is a safety net for getting a project's captured data back when you need it.

<Callout type="note" title="The cloud is the source of truth">
  Your data syncs to the cloud as you work, where it is refined in
  [Manage](https://www.gimlabs.io/platform/manage) and shared through the rest of
  the platform. Export and backups are for getting data off the device directly;
  they do not replace the sync.
</Callout>