When the render Blox property or the render URL attribute is set to xls, Alphablox delivers the output in an HTML format that is loaded into a Microsoft® Excel spreadsheet. When using this format, the MIME type on the page being returned is set to application/vnd.ms-excel, the standard MIME type for Microsoft Excel.
Because this rendering format simply sets the MIME type on the HTML output, the data is not in native Excel format. Data in the grid is loaded as is, and the chart is loaded as a graphic.
A more sophisticated Export to Excel function is provided to end users to allow them to export the data in the grid and chart to native Excel format. The Export to Excel option is available under the File menu in the menu bar. There is also an Export to Excel button on the toolbar. When users select this option, a dialog pops up, allowing them to choose the Excel template to use and whether they want to open it in Excel or save the spreadsheet onto their system.
For a complete explanation of this advanced exporting to Excel function, see Exporting data to Excel.