Exporting requirements artifacts to CSV and spreadsheet files

You can export text-based artifacts from a requirements project into comma-separated values (CSV) files or into spreadsheet (XLS and XLSX) files. The content of the exported file is governed by the columns that are in the current view.

When you export text-based artifacts, you must specify whether to write the data into CSV, XLS, or XLSX format. You can then import the artifacts into the same project or into another project. If you import into another project, the target project types and their predefined values must match the types in the project that you exported from.

You can export artifacts from many places, including the Artifacts page and from within collections and modules. To export artifacts, select the artifacts to export, click the Edit icon Edit icon for a selected artifact, and then click Export.

The following columns cannot be included when you export data:
  • Collections
  • Comments
  • Reviews
  • Team Ownership
  • Used in Modules
Note:
  • You can add the Team Ownership column to a view; however, the export of Team Ownership information is not currently supported. If you include the column in an export operation, the Team Ownership field in the resulting CSV or spreadsheet file is empty.
  • You can add the Validity Summary column to a view, but the validity summary and link validity information are excluded from the resulting CSV or spreadsheet file.

You can also export from a view to capture the column settings and artifacts that are defined in that view. You can create and export artifact views, collection views, or module views; the steps to create any type of view are similar. For detailed instructions to create and export a module view, see Exporting artifacts from modules to CSV files.

Exports to CSV and spreadsheet formats include special markup for links and embedded artifacts. This markup can be used to retain or create links and embedded artifacts if the file is imported later. You can export links by including a link column in the view. Links, images, or embedded artifacts can also be present in the primary text of the requirement, which can be shown in the view and exported.

Contents of exported CSV and spreadsheet files

The exported CSV or spreadsheet file contains the contents that are shown in the view that you exported from. Tags are also included in exports. In some instances, your exported file might contain UTF-8 representations of non-breaking spaces that are shown as  characters. To remove those characters, load the exported file into a text or spreadsheet program and remove them by using the search and replace function.

When you export artifacts from a saved view on the Artifacts page or the Collections page, the Artifact Type column is included by default. If the saved view contains the Artifact Type column, the column is displayed in the same position in the exported file as in the saved view. If the saved view does not include that column, the column is added at the end of the exported fields.

When you export artifacts from a saved view in a module, the following columns are included in the exported file. The columns preserve information about the module structure, which might be used during an import to another module. The columns cannot be added or removed by editing the view.
  • isHeading
  • parentBinding
  • Artifact Type
Important: If you remove any of the listed columns from a CSV file and then import the CSV file in a module, the import fails, and an error message is displayed. For example, if you export a module view to a CSV file, remove the "parentBinding" column from the file, and then import the CSV file, the import operation fails. To resolve this issue, ensure that you import the CSV file that contains all the required columns.
Tip: For more flexibility in importing CSV data, you can manually modify the columns in the exported CSV file by using an external tool. For example, by manually modifying columns in CSV files, you can import the artifacts from multiple modules into a folder. You can also combine the artifacts from multiple module exports into a one module. For more information, see Importing and exporting using the CSV format .
Note: When you import CSV data, you can instruct the import wizard to perform these actions:
  • Create new requirements
  • Update matching requirements and create new requirements for new entries
  • Update matching requirements and ignore new entries