How to retain report format after exporting to Excel?

Question

Hello,

Upon extracting the report, the format of values in excel file have extra characters and extra spaces. Is there a way to correct the data upon exporting?

Report values

Exported values with special characters and extra space below.

Ivony Ann Paula Salango · Answer

Hi @Riyaz Ali-Oracle ,

The extra spaces turn out to be extra rows in the excel file. I tried to check any possible option in the properties, but they are not working.

Riyaz Ali-Oracle · Answer

Hi @Ivony Ann Paula Salango ,

Extra Spaces or Characters. These often come from:

Concatenated columns with manual spacing.

Hidden HTML tags or formatting in text columns.

Null values being replaced with placeholders.

Try the below:* Use TRIM() and REPLACE() functions in your OTBI column formula:

sql

TRIM(REPLACE("Person"."Display Name", CHR(160), ' '))

CHR(160) removes non-breaking spaces.

TRIM() cleans leading/trailing spaces.

2. Date Format Issues

Dates may appear as serial numbers (e.g., 44348.10469) in Excel.

Set a custom date format in OTBI:

Go to Column Properties → Data Format.

Choose Custom Format like MM/dd/yyyy.

Avoid using time zones unless necessary.

Check below as it might be helpful:

Creating Analyses and Dashboards in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence

OTBI Report Date Format changes when exporting to Excel — Oracle Analytics

Thanks,

Riyaz Ali