How to Export HTML Tables to Excel with CSS Styles in Angular

Learn how to effectively export HTML tables to Excel while preserving important CSS styles, using Angular. This guide provides a step-by-step solution for maintaining formatting in your exports.
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Exporting HTML Tables to Excel with CSS Styles in Angular

In today’s digital landscape, creating reports or presenting data often involves exporting it into formats that are more user-friendly and accessible, such as Excel. Many developers face the challenge of exporting HTML tables while keeping the applied CSS styles intact. If you're using Angular and wondering how to achieve this, you're in the right place. Let’s explore how you can export an HTML table to an Excel file retaining your beautiful designs.

The Challenge

When exporting HTML tables to Excel, the fundamental challenge arises from the different ways that web browsers and Excel handle styles. Excel uses its own styling model, and HTML/CSS properties don’t always translate perfectly. This can result in a loss of formatting, such as background colors, borders, and text properties, which can be detrimental for users relying on visual cues in their data representations.

The Current Situation

You may have tried using libraries like xlsx or tableexport, but found that they failed to maintain styles. As a starting point, consider a simple Angular component structure for exporting:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

A Solution: Using Excel’s XML Format

Fortunately, there is an effective workaround that involves generating an Excel-compatible XML structure. Here’s how to do it:

Step-by-Step Implementation

Create the Button and Table: Set up a button that, when clicked, will trigger the export function. Include your HTML table, ensuring to reference it in your component using ViewChild.

Create the Export Function:
Utilize the following code in your Angular component:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Download the File: The above code generates a base64-encoded data URI containing your table in XML format. The link is created programmatically and downloaded, allowing for easy access to the exported file.

Considerations

Limitations: While this approach can retain many styles, it does have its limitations. Not all CSS properties are supported, and some may render differently when viewed in Excel due to the differences in rendering between web browsers and Excel.

Data Sanitization: Importantly, be sure to sanitize any user-generated input to avoid potential XML injection attacks. Ensuring your application remains secure is key, especially in data handling.

Conclusion

Exporting HTML tables to Excel while maintaining CSS styles is feasible by leveraging Excel’s XML format. With the solution outlined above, you can enhance the usability of your Angular applications, allowing users to download styled tables effortlessly. Embrace this method to ensure that your data looks just as good in Excel as it does on your web application.

If you have any additional questions or seek further assistance, feel free to reach out!