Date format in Excel Export

[sjohanse]

We do see different behaviour of date fields in exported Excel files and are not able to clearly identify why this happens.

And even after reading through dozens of documents, web pages and forum posts it is still not clear how this should work.

The questions are quite simple:

Can we expect that dates in exported Excel files (exported from for example the ActiveX viewer) will be formatted as per the format set during the design of the Crystal report or will it follow the Regional Settings on the PC where it is exported?

If it does not follow the Regional Settings is there any 'easy' way to accomplish that?

Thanks and regards, Stig

[former_member183750]

Since you mention ActiveX, I moved your post from the SAP Crystal Reports Design forum to the Legacy SDKs - SAP Crystal Reports forum. Before answering your query, we need to do a bit of house keeping:

1) Note that any SDK using the ActiveX viewer has been retired

2) Please specify version of Crystal Reports used

3) Specify development language used

4) It would be useful if you could boil down your query to something more direct. E.g.; a specific issue \ problem \ error

Ludek

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[sjohanse]

Thanks for the quick answer.

But I do not know what gave you the impression that there is any SDK or any development going on here. Our question is just a simple question related to using the standard export function via the export button in the ActiveX viewer. It is also not a problem related to any specific version, but just a general question regarding how we should design reports. That is why I placed the post in the Crystal Reports Design forum.

So to repeat:

We would like that date fields in exported Excel files are shown in the local regional format. The files are exported by the users themselves by clicking on the export button in the ActiveX viewer.

The reports are generated from BusinessObjects Enterprise running on a server with the international settings set to US. We know that the reports generated on-screen will then show the dates in the US date format. But we believed that when exporting it would respect the user's regional settings.

Let me know if this is not clear.

Regards, Stig

[former_member183750]

But I do not know what gave you the impression that there is any SDK or any development going on here.

1) ActiveX is used in one of two scenarios:

a) COM SDK

b) BusinessObjects Enterprise

Never in the CR designer... Not sure why you'd place a question that in your mind clearly concerns BusinessObjects Enterprise into the Report Design forum. That was most certainly an incorrect forum by the above definition...

2) Given the info you provided, I had a 50% chance of being correct about SDK...

3) Since you are using BusinessObjects Enterprise ActiveX and have a question on that, you want to pose the query to the correct forum, which is [SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise/Edge, and SAP Crystal Reports Server Administration|;.

Re.

Our question is just a simple question related to using the standard export function via the export button in the ActiveX viewer.

- Trust me, in light of my guess re SDK, your question was not "simple"...

- Ludek

[sjohanse]

I still do not agree, but let's not keep arguing about this forever.

As far as I know the export logic for Excel does not sit in the ActiveX viewer, but in a separate DLL-file. This dll should be the same whether you export directly from Crystal Reports or from a report published in Business Objects enterprise.

But I will try to be more exact:

We have reports designed with Crystal Reports 2008 (12.3.0.601). These are published to Business Objects Enterprise XI 3.1 (SP4 Update 12.4.0.966). The server where Business Objects Enterprise is installed has regional settings set to US English, including the date format.

Users view reports in the ActiveX viewer and dates are then displayed in the format of the server. They then use the export button that is available in the viewer to export to Excel files. In those Excel files the dates seems to be formatted so that it sometimes keeps the US date format from the server and sometimes seems to respect the regional settings of the user.

Our questions are:

What is the best method of formatting the dates within the Crystal Reports 2008 designer so that the date format in the exported Excel files will always be formatted according to the regional settings of the user?

Thx and regards, Stig

[former_member11696]

Moved to BOE Admin Forum.

If you have a support contract I suggest you create a case in SMP and have the Rep go over this issue with you.

Don