CSV delimiters (I think)

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CSV delimiters (I think)

CinnamonGirl

SSC Veteran

Points: 292
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February 2, 2005 at 9:09 am

#112949

I just want to export a simple report to CSV but have the layout retained. In other words, if one opens the CSV file in EXCEL, instead of seeing the commas, the data will populate columns and rows.
Anyone done this yet? Sorry if it is some simple setting that I am missing.
TIA
Robin

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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philcart SSC-Forever Points: 47794 More actions · Answer 1

The CSV output from Reporting Services is in Unicode format. There is a trick to make it plain CSV but I can't recall it at the moment.

Why don't you just export it to Excel anyway?

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Colt 45 - the original point and click interface

Jon Spink SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4010 More actions · Answer 2

This URL achieves your purpose:

http://blue/ReportServer?/project_name/report_name&rs:Command=Render&rs:Format=CSV&rc:Encoding=ASCII

with 'project_name' and 'report_name' provided by you.

I'm just beginning with Reporting Services like yourself. So what's the quickest way of printing a report?

Robert J Marmion SSC Enthusiast Points: 157 More actions · Answer 3

We tried this, and found that exporting directly to Excel is a dog. It takes for ever. You are better off just exporting to CSV, which runs really quickly, then manually importing the CSV to Excel, which is also very fast.

philcart SSC-Forever Points: 47794 More actions · Answer 4

Yes, but exporting to CSV and opening in Excel means that you lose any formatting, like column widths, borders, etc...

What I have found to be the best solution for Excel export is to keep the report as simple as possible. ie: do any calculations necessary in SQL before the report is rendered. This means your Excel export is just a plain table with no formulas.

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Colt 45 - the original point and click interface

Jon Spink SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4010 More actions · Answer 5

while we're on the subject, if you create a report with subreports, the columns in Excel aren't consistent as you move down the rows: subreports which yield no rows only take up one column, misaligning the columns from following subreports. As phillcart says, it's probably down to redesigning the report, but I haven;t thought of a solution to this one yet

CinnamonGirl SSC Veteran Points: 292 More actions · Answer 6

Thanks for all the suggestions! I have tried the URL. Works to a certain extent, it does put the fields in separate columns, however, the rows (which are really data "groups") are not imported.

Robin