Export to CSV using jQuery and html

jquery html csv export export-to-csv
GOK picture GOK · Apr 18, 2013 · Viewed 178.6k times · Source

I have a tabular data which I need to export to csv without using any external plugin or api. I used the window.open method passing the mime types but faced issues like below:

How to determine whether Microsoft Excel or Open Office is installed on the system using jquery

The code should be independent of the fact that what is being installed on the system i.e., openoffice or ms excel. I believe CSV is the format which can be expected to show in both the editors.

CODE

    <html>

<head>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script>  

<script type="text/JavaScript">
$(document).ready(function(){
    $("#btnExport").click(function(e) {
        var msg = GetMimeTypes();
        //OpenOffice
        window.open('data:application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet,' + $('#dvData').html());
        //MS-Excel
        window.open('data:application/vnd.ms-excel,' + $('#dvData').html());
        //CSV
        window.open('data:application/csv,charset=utf-8,' + $('#dvData').html());
        e.preventDefault();
    });
});

function GetMimeTypes () {
    var message = "";
        // Internet Explorer supports the mimeTypes collection, but it is always empty
    if (navigator.mimeTypes && navigator.mimeTypes.length > 0) {
        var mimes = navigator.mimeTypes;
        for (var i=0; i < mimes.length; i++) {
            message += "<b>" + mimes[i].type + "</b> : " + mimes[i].description + "<br />";
        }
    }
    else {
        message = "Your browser does not support this ";
       //sorry!
    }

    return ( message);
}
</script>

</head>
<body>
<div id="dvData">
<table>
    <tr>
        <th>Column One </th>
        <th>Column Two</th>
        <th>Column Three</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>row1 Col1</td>
        <td>row1 Col2</td>
        <td>row1 Col3</td>
   </tr>
   <tr>
        <td>row2 Col1</td>
        <td>row2 Col2</td>
        <td>row2 Col3</td>
   </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>row3 Col1</td>
        <td>row3 Col2</td>
        <td>row3 Col3</td>  
   </tr>
</table>
</div>
<br/>
<input type="button" id="btnExport" value=" Export Table data into Excel " />

</body>

Errors:

CSV: Unrecognised over the browsers

ODS & Excel: is working but I am not able to find which one to generate when system is having an excel installed or openoffice installed?

IE version 8 : it is totally not working, opens in a new window and as below screenshot.

enter image description here

Answer

Terry Young picture Terry Young · Apr 25, 2013

Demo

See below for an explanation.

$(document).ready(function() {

  function exportTableToCSV($table, filename) {

    var $rows = $table.find('tr:has(td)'),

      // Temporary delimiter characters unlikely to be typed by keyboard
      // This is to avoid accidentally splitting the actual contents
      tmpColDelim = String.fromCharCode(11), // vertical tab character
      tmpRowDelim = String.fromCharCode(0), // null character

      // actual delimiter characters for CSV format
      colDelim = '","',
      rowDelim = '"\r\n"',

      // Grab text from table into CSV formatted string
      csv = '"' + $rows.map(function(i, row) {
        var $row = $(row),
          $cols = $row.find('td');

        return $cols.map(function(j, col) {
          var $col = $(col),
            text = $col.text();

          return text.replace(/"/g, '""'); // escape double quotes

        }).get().join(tmpColDelim);

      }).get().join(tmpRowDelim)
      .split(tmpRowDelim).join(rowDelim)
      .split(tmpColDelim).join(colDelim) + '"';

    // Deliberate 'false', see comment below
    if (false && window.navigator.msSaveBlob) {

      var blob = new Blob([decodeURIComponent(csv)], {
        type: 'text/csv;charset=utf8'
      });

      // Crashes in IE 10, IE 11 and Microsoft Edge
      // See MS Edge Issue #10396033
      // Hence, the deliberate 'false'
      // This is here just for completeness
      // Remove the 'false' at your own risk
      window.navigator.msSaveBlob(blob, filename);

    } else if (window.Blob && window.URL) {
      // HTML5 Blob        
      var blob = new Blob([csv], {
        type: 'text/csv;charset=utf-8'
      });
      var csvUrl = URL.createObjectURL(blob);

      $(this)
        .attr({
          'download': filename,
          'href': csvUrl
        });
    } else {
      // Data URI
      var csvData = 'data:application/csv;charset=utf-8,' + encodeURIComponent(csv);

      $(this)
        .attr({
          'download': filename,
          'href': csvData,
          'target': '_blank'
        });
    }
  }

  // This must be a hyperlink
  $(".export").on('click', function(event) {
    // CSV
    var args = [$('#dvData>table'), 'export.csv'];

    exportTableToCSV.apply(this, args);

    // If CSV, don't do event.preventDefault() or return false
    // We actually need this to be a typical hyperlink
  });
});
a.export,
a.export:visited {
  display: inline-block;
  text-decoration: none;
  color: #000;
  background-color: #ddd;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
  padding: 8px;
}
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<a href="#" class="export">Export Table data into Excel</a>
<div id="dvData">
  <table>
    <tr>
      <th>Column One</th>
      <th>Column Two</th>
      <th>Column Three</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>row1 Col1</td>
      <td>row1 Col2</td>
      <td>row1 Col3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>row2 Col1</td>
      <td>row2 Col2</td>
      <td>row2 Col3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>row3 Col1</td>
      <td>row3 Col2</td>
      <td>row3 Col3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>row4 'Col1'</td>
      <td>row4 'Col2'</td>
      <td>row4 'Col3'</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>row5 &quot;Col1&quot;</td>
      <td>row5 &quot;Col2&quot;</td>
      <td>row5 &quot;Col3&quot;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>row6 "Col1"</td>
      <td>row6 "Col2"</td>
      <td>row6 "Col3"</td>
    </tr>
  </table>
</div>

As of 2017

Now uses HTML5 Blob and URL as the preferred method with Data URI as a fallback.

On Internet Explorer

Other answers suggest window.navigator.msSaveBlob; however, it is known to crash IE10/Window 7 and IE11/Windows 10. Whether it works using Microsoft Edge is dubious (see Microsoft Edge issue ticket #10396033).

Merely calling this in Microsoft's own Developer Tools / Console causes the browser to crash:

navigator.msSaveBlob(new Blob(["hello"], {type: "text/plain"}), "test.txt");


Four years after my first answer, new IE versions include IE10, IE11, and Edge. They all crash on a function that Microsoft invented (slow clap).

Add navigator.msSaveBlob support at your own risk.

As of 2013

Typically this would be performed using a server-side solution, but this is my attempt at a client-side solution. Simply dumping HTML as a Data URI will not work, but is a helpful step. So:

  1. Convert the table contents into a valid CSV formatted string. (This is the easy part.)
  2. Force the browser to download it. The window.open approach would not work in Firefox, so I used <a href="{Data URI here}">.
  3. Assign a default file name using the <a> tag's download attribute, which only works in Firefox and Google Chrome. Since it is just an attribute, it degrades gracefully.

Notes

Compatibility

Browsers testing includes:

  • Firefox 20+, Win/Mac (works)
  • Google Chrome 26+, Win/Mac (works)
  • Safari 6, Mac (works, but filename is ignored)
  • IE 9+ (fails)

Content Encoding

The CSV is exported correctly, but when imported into Excel, the character ü is printed out as ä. Excel interprets the value incorrectly.

Introduce var csv = '\ufeff'; and then Excel 2013+ interprets the values correctly.

If you need compatibility with Excel 2007, add UTF-8 prefixes at each data value. See also:

Related questions

How do I check whether a checkbox is checked in jQuery?

I need to check the checked property of a checkbox and perform an action based on the checked property using jQuery. For example, if the age checkbox is checked, then I need to show a textbox to enter age, else …

Read More
Get the value in an input text box

What are the ways to get and render an input value using jQuery? Here is one:

Read More
How can I know which radio button is selected via jQuery?

I have two radio buttons and want to post the value of the selected one. How can I get the value with jQuery? I can get all of them like this: $("form :radio") How do I know which one is …

Read More