FAQ - Excel warning when opening FocalScope raw (.xls) reports

When opening a raw FocalScope report (.xls format), Excel may give a warning about the file being different that specified by its extension, and prompting if the user wishes to proceed opening the file. This article explains what causes this Excel warning and how to safely get around it.

Prerequisites

Getting started with FocalScope reports

Explanation

When the raw Excel report (.xls) is exported from FocalScope shared report module, the file contents are actually in HTML format, but the file extension is kept as .xls so that the report can be opened in Excel. Excel detects this discrepancy between the HTML data and the .xls file extension. Here is how to proceed if you receive the warning in Figure 1:

• At the prompt, click [Yes] - the file is perfectly safe to open, and the contents will display correctly

Figure 1 - Excel warning for raw reports (.xls)

Additional Information

How to export FocalScope reports directly to a folder or FTP / web server