Exporting and importing decision tables with Excel

Decision Designer supports exporting decision tables to Microsoft Excel and importing updated tables back into the application.

This capability helps you to collaborate by using familiar tools, streamline content updates, and maintain governance by restricting changes to table content only.

When you export a decision table, the system generates an Excel file that mirrors the table’s structure. Other users can edit the cell values in the file without accessing Decision Designer. After updates are complete, you can import the file back into Decision Designer to apply the changes.

Structural changes, such as adding or removing columns, are not supported. If the structure differs from the original table, the import fails.

Exporting a decision table

To export a decision table:

  1. Open the decision model in Decision Designer.
  2. Go to the node that contains the decision table.
  3. Open the decision table.
  4. Click Download as Excel file Download icon. The system generates an Excel file and downloads it to your workstation.
  5. Open the file in Excel to review or edit the content.

Editing the decision table in Excel

To edit a decision table in Excel:

  1. Open the decision table in Excel.
  2. Update cell values as needed. You can add new rows or modify existing rows.
  3. Enter the operators and values as plain text. Use the following formats:

    Operators: [10 \ 20], >50, contains, is null

    Dates: M/D/Y or M/D/Y H:MM:SS AM/PM

    Boolean values: true, false

    If needed, set Excel to treat Boolean values as text.

  4. If the table uses expressions that reference custom logic, enter the full expression as plain text.
  5. Save the file.

Do not perform these actions:

  • Add or remove columns.
  • Change column names or sheet names.
  • Edit column header definitions or comments.

Importing the updated Excel file

To import an updated Excel file:

  1. In Decision Designer, open the original decision table.
  2. Click Upload Excel file Upload icon.
  3. Select the updated Excel file.
  4. Click Apply. The system validates the structure and updates the table content.

Transferring data manually

You can copy and paste data between Excel and Decision Designer.

  • Make sure that the copied content matches the decision table layout.
  • Only values are transferred. Data types are not preserved.
  • For Boolean values, set Excel to treat them as text so that the lowercase format is retained.
  • When you copy rows or columns, select the entire group of cells.
  • When you copy data from Decision Designer to Excel, hyphens in cells indicate grouped cells. To insert an actual hyphen, enter it in quotation marks, for example: "-".
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