Magento 2 XLSX Export: Magento Export of Products to Excel Explained

Below, we shed light on the Magento 2 Excel export. You will learn how to run Magento 2 XLSX data transfers although this file format is not supported by default. The default import and export capabilities of Magento 2 are fairly limited. Depending on the platform’s editions, they vary a bit but neither of the existing versions lets you work with Excel and its XLSX files. However, you can implement the missing functionality with the help of the Improved Import & Export extension. The following article depicts the Magento export of products to Excel using the XLSX format. 

Understanding XLSX & Its Predecessor

XLS is a standard file extension for a spreadsheet file format created for storing Microsoft Excel documents, known as the Binary Interchange File Format (BIFF). In its turn, XLSX is another kind of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and macro programming. As you might know, the latter is the latest version of Microsoft Excel while the former is the older one. Thus, XLS is associated with the 2003 version of Excel, while XLSX is related to versions since 2007.

It is also necessary to mention that XLSX and XLS files store information differently. As we’ve just mentioned, XLS is based on BIFF, keeping all the data ordered in a binary format. As for XLSX, it incorporates the Office Open XML format, storing all the data in a text file that utilizes XML for defining parameters.

Also, the performance of the two file types differs. XLS files are faster than XLSX when you use complex formulas and large sets of data.

It is also worth mentioning that XLS files are supported in all Excel versions while XLSX sheets can be processed in Microsoft Excel versions 2007 and onwards. 

From the perspective of Magento 2 data export, XLS and XLSX are quite similar and interchangeable. If you want to process data files in Excel 2007+ you can freely use XLSX instead of XLS. If your editor is older, you either need to run the XLS export or convert XLSX into XLS. Now, let’s move forward to the Magento export of products to Excel.

Magento Export of Products to Excel via XLSX

Follow these steps to export products from Magento 2 to Excel with the help of XLSX files:

1. Proceed to System > Improved Import/Export > Export jobs and click the ‘Add New Job’ button.
   
2. In the General Settings, specify the job name. It is also possible to set the job schedule to export products to Excel regularly.
   
3. In the Export Settings section, choose Products as your export entity.
   
4. In the Export Behavior, select XLSX format to export products to Excel and accept standard separators.
   
5. In the Export Source section, select the export source for your newsletter subscribers, such as File, Google Sheets, Dropbox, FTP, URL, etc.
   
6. Finish the configuration and run the export process.

Note that you can use filters to narrow down the selection of products you export between magento and Excel. And if you need to edit column names in your XLSX file, feel free to use mapping to replace the default attributes with any custom names. More nuances associated with the export process are available here: Improved Import & Export Extension Manual. Also, contact us to get help with the Magento export of products to Excel.

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Magento 2 XLSX Export FAQ