Custom Export...

[Raymond]

I have a scenario where the grid contains a small subset of the fields in a table.  When I export to excel, I want to include the extra fields.  But there are so many extra fields, and the export is used infrequently, that I don't want the overhead of always including them as hidden columns.  What I'd like to do is construct the excel file on the server, and feed it back to the client.  I have the grid set up to use the server proxy for the excel export as follows:

@(Html.Kendo().Grid<InstID2.Models.Institution>()
    .Name("grdInstitutions")
    .ClientDetailTemplateId("client-template")
    .Pageable()
    .Sortable()
    .Filterable()
    .ToolBar(t => t.Excel())
    .Excel(excel => excel
        .FileName("Kendo UI Grid Export.xlsx")
        .Filterable(true)
        .ProxyURL(Url.Action("Excel_Export_Save", "Default"))
        .ForceProxy(true)
    )
    .DataSource(dataSource => dataSource
        .Ajax()
        .PageSize(20)
        .Read(read => read.Action("Institution_Read", "Default"))
        )
    )
)

And I have the server proxy action as follows:

        public ActionResult Excel_Export_Save(string contentType, string base64, string fileName)
        {
            var fileContents = Convert.FromBase64String(base64);

            return File(fileContents, contentType, fileName);
        }

 

So I have 2 questions:

 

1.  To construct the excel file on the server, the server needs to know the current grid filters that are applied.  Is there a way to pass the current filters in as a parameter to the ProxyURL?  I've tried a few variations using a javascript function, but nothing has worked so far.

 

2.  Since the server will be executing a query and constructing the excel file, the export data passed from the client (the "base64" parameter above) is not needed.  Is there a way to make the client skip creating and sending the export data to the server?  This is a minor issue as the parameter can simply be ignored.  But it would improve performance if the client could skip that step since it is not needed.

 

Thanks,

 

Ray

[Boyan Dimitrov]

Hello Raymond,

My suggestion is to review the Server-side Excel export project. It demonstrates how to export the Kendo UI Grid data as an Excel document on the server side. Main advantage of server-side export is that it allows the developer full control over the final output.

Regards,
Boyan Dimitrov
Telerik by Progress