Use DAT and DEF files to export and import data

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Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Microsoft Dynamics AX import/export is the primary mechanism for transferring data between companies. The companies can run on different instances of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Data can be exported from a company that is in one partition and imported into another company that is in another partition. By using definition groups, you can precisely specify the data to export, and you can also define groups of tables that can be imported repeatedly.

This section includes the following topics:

Create definition groups for import and export

Import data from another instance of Microsoft Dynamics AX

Export data to another instance of Microsoft Dynamics AX

Walkthrough: Migrate data between environments

Import duplicate company data to use for testing