Trouble Exporting To Excel - Revision history

Lsilverman at 16:39, 18 August 2016

2016-08-18T16:39:28Z

Lsilverman at 16:36, 18 August 2016

2016-08-18T16:36:03Z

Lsilverman at 18:36, 9 August 2016

2016-08-09T18:36:47Z

Lsilverman at 18:32, 9 August 2016

2016-08-09T18:32:25Z

Lsilverman: /* I'm still reading. Why did this really happen? */

2016-08-08T16:11:39Z

I'm still reading. Why did this really happen?

Lsilverman at 16:06, 8 August 2016

2016-08-08T16:06:47Z

Lsilverman: /* Executive Summary */

2016-08-08T16:01:16Z

Executive Summary

Lsilverman: /* =Summary of Workarounds */

2016-08-08T15:58:34Z

=Summary of Workarounds

Lsilverman: /* What Are The Workarounds in the Mean Time? */

2016-08-08T15:57:48Z

What Are The Workarounds in the Mean Time?

Lsilverman: /* What Are The Workarounds in the Mean Time? */

2016-08-08T15:55:16Z

What Are The Workarounds in the Mean Time?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:39, 18 August 2016
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	You might be able to install your own updates, depending on your local IT policy. Within Excel 2016 (might work for older versions), go to File...Account. Click the Office Updates button and choose Update Now.		You might be able to install your own updates, depending on your local IT policy. Within Excel 2016 (might work for older versions), go to File...Account. Click the Office Updates button and choose Update Now.
		+
		+	[[File:ExcelUpdate.png\|600px]]

	==Update Aug 9 2016==		==Update Aug 9 2016==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:36, 18 August 2016
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		+	==Update Aug 17 2016==
		+	We have reports that an update was delivered by Microsoft directly into Excel itself. Once installed, Export to Excel on the TrackAbout site was working once again.
		+
		+	You might be able to install your own updates, depending on your local IT policy. Within Excel 2016 (might work for older versions), go to File...Account. Click the Office Updates button and choose Update Now.
		+
	==Update Aug 9 2016==		==Update Aug 9 2016==
	It appears Microsoft has recognized they made a mistake. They will be fixing the issue in the next round of Windows Updates.		It appears Microsoft has recognized they made a mistake. They will be fixing the issue in the next round of Windows Updates.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 It appears Microsoft has recognized they made a mistake. They will be fixing the issue in the next round of Windows Updates.
-[https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d2d84793-9920-45e3-baef-5027a4ac1ae0/kb3170008-for-office-2016-breaks-functionality-ms16088#3a8b2402-10fd-44ce-ab53-082975276b73 Please see this TechNet post.]
+[https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d2d84793-9920-45e3-baef-5027a4ac1ae0/kb3170008-for-office-2016-breaks-functionality-ms16088#3a8b2402-10fd-44ce-ab53-082975276b73 See this Microsoft TechNet post] in which Microsoft recaps the issue and lists how to apply the fixes immediately.
 Below is the original issue as posted.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:32, 9 August 2016
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		+	==Update Aug 9 2016==
		+	It appears Microsoft has recognized they made a mistake. They will be fixing the issue in the next round of Windows Updates.
		+
		+	[https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d2d84793-9920-45e3-baef-5027a4ac1ae0/kb3170008-for-office-2016-breaks-functionality-ms16088#3a8b2402-10fd-44ce-ab53-082975276b73 Please see this TechNet post.]
		+
		+	Below is the original issue as posted.
		+
	==Executive Summary==		==Executive Summary==
	Some users are finding themselves unable to export pages to Excel from the TrackAbout web site the way they used to.		Some users are finding themselves unable to export pages to Excel from the TrackAbout web site the way they used to.

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
   content-type: application/vnd.ms-excel
-What the server is actually sending down is plain HTML. But the server is telling the browser that the file is really an Excel file, so the browser will save it as an .xls file.
+What the server is actually sending down is plain HTML. But the server is telling the browser that it's going to be downloading an Excel file. This causes the browser to prompt the user regarding what to do with the file (Save, Open, Save and Open, etc).
 The file gets downloaded to the local computer and placed on the hard drive. The user can also choose to Open the file immediately.
 Excel used to not care that an .xls file actually contained HTML and was not, technically, an Excel file. Excel would happily import the HTML data.
-Microsoft changed this behavior because they now believe that opening HTML in Excel poses some kind of security risk. That's their reason for blocking it.
+Microsoft changed this behavior because they now believe that opening HTML in Excel poses some kind of security risk. '''This is why they made the change.''' Whether there's a known, proven exploit or it's just a theory is known only to Microsoft.
 This explanation might make more clear the reason one of the workarounds works. A user with sufficient permissions can Unblock a file that the operating system thinks is suspicious. In this case, Windows (the operating system) thinks it's suspicious that a file with extension .xls doesn't contain Excel data. The user (with Administrator permissions) can right-click, go to the Properties dialog, and Unblock the file. Then it will open per usual.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Having Trouble Exporting to Excel?==
+==Executive Summary==
 Some users are finding themselves unable to export pages to Excel from the TrackAbout web site the way they used to.
 Downloaded Excel files are not opening properly, or appear blank when they are opened.
-===Why is this happening?===
+==Why is this happening?==
 Microsoft releases Windows Updates on the second Tuesday of every month (a.k.a. Patch Tuesday). In the July 12, 2016 bundle, Microsoft included an update named [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3115262 KB3115262].
@@ Line 16: / Line 15: @@
 This is not a result of TrackAbout's recent UI Facelift. We actually wish it was, because we could fix it quickly.
-===Does Microsoft Know What They've Done?===
+==Is Microsoft Aware of What They've Done?==
 They are aware. We're following this [https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d2d84793-9920-45e3-baef-5027a4ac1ae0/kb3170008-for-office-2016-breaks-functionality-ms16088?forum=officeitpro&prof=required Microsoft TechNet post] where people are complaining to Microsoft.
 It appears Microsoft has broken a great many web sites, including Salesforce and their own Microsoft Dynamics CRM product with this change.
-===We Are Working on a Fix===
+==We Are Working on a Fix==
 We have engineers working right now to change the way users download data from the site. It should be a permanent fix, if we can get it working. But it won't be available for a month or two at best.
-===What Are The Workarounds in the Mean Time?===
+==What Are The Workarounds in the Mean Time?==
 The easiest workaround is to stop using Export to Excel for now, and instead manually copy/paste the table data from the page you want into Excel. If you highlight and select just a table in a web page and <kbd>Ctrl-C</kbd> copy, you can then <kbd>Ctrl-V</kbd> paste the table directly into Excel.
@@ Line 35: / Line 34: @@
 Other fixes require a user to have Administrator privileges on his or her machine, which no regular user should have.
-====Summary of Workarounds====
+===Summary of Workarounds===
 * Copy and paste into Excel
 * If a user has Administrator privileges, that user can "unblock" the .xls file so it will open. Right-click on the downloaded .xls file, go to Properties, and click the Unblock button. You have to do this on every downloaded file.
@@ Line 41: / Line 40: @@
 * Another suggestion is to disable Excel protected view for files originating from the Internet. This is not a great workaround, and we don't recommend it, because it exposes users to risks from every other site on the Internet.
-===I'm still reading. Why did this ''really'' happen?===
+==I'm still reading. Why did this ''really'' happen?==
 You like the technical stuff? Ok, strap in.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:57, 8 August 2016
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	Other fixes require a user to have Administrator privileges on his or her machine, which no regular user should have.		Other fixes require a user to have Administrator privileges on his or her machine, which no regular user should have.
		+
		+	====Summary of Workarounds===
		+	* Copy and paste into Excel
		+	* If a user has Administrator privileges, that user can "unblock" the .xls file so it will open. Right-click on the downloaded .xls file, go to Properties, and click the Unblock button. You have to do this on every downloaded file.
		+	* One suggestion is to email the .xls file to yourself. It might open out of your Email client.
		+	* Another suggestion is to disable Excel protected view for files originating from the Internet. This is not a great workaround, and we don't recommend it, because it exposes users to risks from every other site on the Internet.

	===I'm still reading. Why did this ''really'' happen?===		===I'm still reading. Why did this ''really'' happen?===

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The easiest workaround is to stop using Export to Excel for now, and instead manually copy/paste the table data from the page you want into Excel. If you highlight and select just a table in a web page and <kbd>Ctrl-C</kbd> copy, you can then <kbd>Ctrl-V</kbd> paste the table directly into Excel.
-[[File:CopyPaste2Excel.gif:1024px]]
+[[File:CopyPaste2Excel.gif|1024px]]
 There are a great many workarounds suggested in the [https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d2d84793-9920-45e3-baef-5027a4ac1ae0/kb3170008-for-office-2016-breaks-functionality-ms16088?forum=officeitpro&prof=required Microsoft TechNet post]. The best option for your company should be discussed with your IT staff.