Allow for exporting to .xlsx format

There are multiple reasons listed on this thread (https://community.blackbaud.com/forums/viewtopic/143/58541?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=community.blackbaud.com&utm_medium=email) but for us we have many Power BI and Power Query processes set up and the file extension is critical to their ability to automatically update. Without the ability to export to .xlsx and then download to our local environment, we will have to rebuild all of these connections which will take time away form the work we should be doing to support our organizations.

  • Dan Snyder
  • Mar 21 2022
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  • Hallie Findley commented
    October 26, 2022 17:11

    This is definitely a step backwards. When we came back to Blackbaud, it was because we felt that they really understood non-profits' needs better than other companies. However, moves like this along with a push to a very inadequate NXT makes me feel like they are becoming out of touch with our needs. Very disappointing. I hope they speed up their "evaluation" of this decision and come to their senses.

  • danise cavallaro commented
    September 19, 2022 20:05

    Agreed- this is annoying and was not advertised when it was announced you were disintegrating with Office. Regression is unacceptable.

  • Guest commented
    July 07, 2022 13:03

    Echoing the sentiments of others that regressing export file formats is not acceptable. I am a little tech savvy but even I had to contact chat support to figure out how to export my query to an excel, since clearly something changed. Exporting to 97-2000 excel is just bizarre and not clear for most users. This should be updated to export to modern versions of microsoft office, or even google docs. Fix this ASAP. Thank you.

  • Keleigh Allen commented
    May 17, 2022 00:27

    Regressing to a very old file format is not acceptable. XLS has limits on the number of rows output, and csv files drop leading zeros as well as losing other necessary formatting of different fields unless they are handled VERY carefully and require unnecessary extra steps. XLS also does not allow for the complex Excel formulas that we require, which means I end up having to take an extra step to convert my XLS file exports to XLSX in order to work with them in cases where there aren't too many records to export XLS in the first place. If you can't explain in clear detail why an outdated file format like XLS is supposedly the better option, then you need to reinstate XLSX as an available output format.

  • eugenie packer commented
    April 25, 2022 15:43

    XLS is such a bloated file compares the XLSX. Please bring back the standard, and not regress to an inefficient relic!

  • sheila loveland commented
    April 13, 2022 16:56

    YES! 1,000 times YES!

  • Devan Caton commented
    April 11, 2022 14:30

    We really need for this functionality to be restored. This is creating so much unnecessary work. Blackbaud is stating it's because of the dis-integration of Microsoft Office at the end of February 2020. However, this is just exporting data, not launching an Office application, so it shouldn't have impacted our ability to export to this file type. Additionally, nothing was ever communicated (that I saw) that this functionality would be going away. We have so many external processes that are currently set up to look for XLSX files that we are now having to revise or jump through hoops for (export as CSV, open, save as...). XLS format is not a viable solution because it limits the amount of data you can export. CSV format is not a viable solution because it truncates data with leading zeros (like ZIP codes), as well as import IDs that do not contains hyphens.


    BLACKBAUD - PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE RESTORE THIS.

  • Tom Reaney commented
    March 31, 2022 15:46

    Please reinstate .xlsx format for exporting - I now have a suite of reports that I will have to reconfigure/rebuild if I cannot get the data structured how it once was (Power BI reports looking at several .xlsx files) - I (nor any other memmber of my team) has the skill set or time to commit to this, ergo we currently have broken reports! And yet again - no heads up from Blackbaud!!

  • Laura Schmidt commented
    March 28, 2022 15:28

    Agree, ability to export as .xlsx file is very important!

  • JoAnn Strommen commented
    March 21, 2022 20:00

    Ditto, other comments. Way too much work and trying to work through solution individually with struggling users is taking me away from other responsibilities. Who still has that old version on Excel on their machine?!

  • Brenda Schelling-Biggs commented
    March 21, 2022 18:37

    Not being able to export in .xlsx format has been problematic for us. Please bring it back. I don't recall reading about this in the Microsoft Integration resources. Took us completely by surprise.

  • Terrie Sampson commented
    March 21, 2022 16:57

    Please include .xlsx into list of export format options. These recent changes are making working with RE and NXT harder, not easier. Very frustrating!

  • Tonia Ferrell commented
    March 21, 2022 15:53

    Yes - please put .xlsx BACK into the list as a format option!! Too many extra steps created for your users with all of the new changes and "improvements."

  • Ursula Stacks commented
    March 21, 2022 15:30

    I would vote 1000 times for this if possible - this is causing so much extra work!

  • Meredith Saluzzo commented
    March 21, 2022 13:48

    This is a problem that has created an unimaginable crisis at our organization. Yes there is a "work" around but the amount of work need to do this or fix to a new format is unbelievable. Who would have even thought that the Microsoft fix back in February would have affected exports.

  • Aimee Annichiarico commented
    March 21, 2022 13:45

    Yes, please! Need to be able to export to up to date file formats like .xlsx for sure!

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