How To: Exporting GUI Reports for MS Excel

Overview

This tutorial describes how to export a GUI Report for use with Microsoft Excel. The process for exporting a GUI report is basically the same from one report to the next.

NOTE: Many Tyler reports now open directly in Excel (when you click the ‘Export’ or ‘Export File’ button), eliminating the need to complete the steps described in this tutorial. The report is also saved to your computer as part of this process.

Video

Tip: Use the controls on the video player to watch in Full Screen mode, adjust the quality, or watch on YouTube.

Step-by-Step

Click image to enlarge.

  1. Enter the criteria for the report and click Refresh.

  1. Click the Export File button at the bottom of the screen.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. A new window opens. The location on your computer where the file will be saved, along with the filename, appears. Accept or change this information.

    Make sure to change the file extension if necessary. Remember, each file type needs to have the correct extension:

    2. Tab Delimited
    .txt

    Comma Delimited
    .csv

    Pipe Delimited
    .txt
    NOTE: If you forget to change the extension before downloading, you can always rename the file in Windows Explorer.
    NOTE: The documentation for the report will tell you what type of file you are downloading. You can also open the file in Notepad for verification.

  1. Click OK.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. Open Microsoft Excel. Click the ‘Office Icon’ (or ‘File’ in later versions) and then click ‘Open.’
    REMEMBER: You should always open delimited files from within Excel. Do not try to open them by clicking on the file in Windows Explorer, or you will lose the leading zero in all fields that begin with a zero.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. To display files of all types, click the arrow on the right side of the ‘Files of type’ box (‘All Excel Files’ box in later versions) and select ‘All Files (*.*) from the drop-down list.

  1. Double-click the file to open it.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. The Excel ‘Text Import Wizard’ opens. On the first screen, click the Delimited radio button.
    IMPORTANT: You should never open a delimited file without using the Text Import Wizard. If you open a delimited file and the Text Import Wizard screen does not appear, close the file and change the extension (if it was ‘.txt’, change it to ‘.csv’, or vice versa). Then open it again.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. Click Next.

  1. On the second screen, select the delimiter for the file by checking ‘Tab’ or ‘Comma’ (depending on the file type). All other boxes here should be unchecked.
    NOTE: If this is a pipe delimited file, check the ‘Other’ box and enter the pipe symbol ( | ) in the box to the right.

  1. Click Next.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. On the third screen, in the Data preview area, use the scrollbar to move to the last column on the spreadsheet.

  1. While holding down the Shift key, click the column heading of the last column. This selects all information in the file (all columns should be highlighted in black).

  1. Click the Text radio button at the top of the screen.
    NOTE: This step is critical because if you do not format the information as text, the leading zero will be lost in all fields that begin with a zero.

  1. Click Finish.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. The report opens in Excel, where you can edit and view the data as necessary.

Click image to enlarge.

  1. For easier editing later, save the report as an Excel file (.xls, .xlsx) before exiting.
Tags: , , ,