Forum Discussion

jale4it's avatar
jale4it
Copper Contributor
Aug 20, 2023

A tool for exporting all to-do items to a data file, such as CSV or JSON

Can anyone tell when Microsoft will implement a download tool in https://to-do.office.com/tasks/all to export all my tasks to a data file such as CSV or JSON (machine readable format)?
The only option is to print to PDF (human readable format).

Legal

This should have been implemented for citizens in the EU concerning the new GDPR human right to control their personal data since May 25, 2018. 

Microsoft claims

Microsoft claims, https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/trust-center/privacy:

At Microsoft, we value, protect, and defend data privacy. We believe in transparency, so that people and organizations can control their data and have meaningful choices in how it's used. We empower and defend the data privacy choices of every person who uses our products and services.

You control your data
Our time-tested approach to data privacy is grounded in our commitment to give you control over the data you put in the cloud. In other words, you control your data. Microsoft guarantees this with the contractual commitments we make to you.

GDPR

However, Microsoft does not fulfill the obligations outlined in EU GDPR rights 15 (right to access) and 20 (right to data portability).


GDPR [1], article 15.3, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0679#d1e2513-1-1 says:

The controller shall provide a copy of the personal data undergoing processing. For any further copies requested by the data subject, the controller may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs. Where the data subject makes the request by electronic means, and unless otherwise requested by the data subject, the information shall be provided in a commonly used electronic form.

WP242 [2] says:

Article 20 of the GDPR creates a new right to data portability, which is closely related to the right of access but differs from it in many ways. It allows for data subjects to receive the personal data that they have provided to a controller, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to transmit those data to another data controller. The purpose of this new right is to empower the data subject and give him/her more control over the personal data concerning him or her.

As a good practice, data controllers should start developing the means that will contribute to answer data portability requests, such as download tools and Application Programming Interfaces. They should guarantee that personal data are transmitted in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and they should be encouraged to ensure the interoperability of the data format provided in the exercise of a data portability request.

References

[1] GDPR, L_2016119EN.01000101.Xml. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0679. 27-04-2016.

[2] WP242, ARTICLE29 - Guidelines on the Right to “Data Portability” (Wp242rev.01). https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/article29/items/611233. 05-04-2017.

  • Mario_Corrado's avatar
    Mario_Corrado
    Copper Contributor
    Aug 22, 2023

    jale4it

    While I would indeed need the export function I do not think that this is required by GDPR. 

    The right to portability concerns personal data i.e. data that can link to a specific person. A list of task is not personal data by definition (unless I add sensible data to tasks, but this is my specific decision and use of the application). E.g. the task "call the tv technician on Monday" is not sensible or personal data while the task "call the doctor on Monday for routine check of my diabetes" is.

    • jale4it's avatar
      jale4it
      Copper Contributor
      Aug 23, 2023
      Hi Mario,

      I do no not agree - all personal data are in scope. "Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual" refer to
      definition of personal data: https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/what-personal-data_en or you can find it in WP136.

      GDPR (protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data), ie . the idea is to give a person control of their own personal data. Refer to GDPR, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#d1e40-1-1 - see (6) and (7).

      The sensibility is about how it should be protected and has nothing to do with control of your data.

      • JamesErickson's avatar
        JamesErickson
        Copper Contributor
        Aug 26, 2023

        jale4it  This is indeed one of those things that I wished ToDo had. I needed exportability as we have hundreds of tasks and I move them to archive folders each week so we dont muck up our workflow.  I ended up using PowerAutomate in order to export the list.  If you have PowerAutomate you can go through each list and write it to an online Excel file. 

        The other way to do it.

        Move all the tasks to "export" to a new export to do list.

        For this list go to print list or Email List. Your goal is to get the list on your clipboard.

        Once you do you can run this simple script on new Excel worksheet

         

         

        Sub ParseToDoClipboard()

  Dim c As Range, ws As Worksheet, rw As Long
  Dim s As String, x As Long
  Set ws = ActiveSheet
  
  Range("a1").Select
  ws.PasteSpecial "text"
  rw = 1
  x = 0
  For Each c In Selection
    x = x + 1
    'check for header
    If x = 1 Then
      ws.Range("J" & rw).Value = c.Value
      rw = rw + 1
    End If
    s = c.Value
    If Left(s, 1) = "?" Then
      s = Replace(s, "?", "")
      ws.Range("J" & rw).Value = Mid(s, 2)
      rw = rw + 1
    End If
  Next c
  
  
End Sub

         

         

        They are both not the most elegant suggestions but it's something. Let me know if you have any questions.

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