Issue: Excel Data Ribbon Greyed Out on Initial Open of SpreadJS Export

Issue: Excel Data Ribbon Greyed Out on Initial Open of SpreadJS Export

Posted by: kavan155gondalia on 18 September 2025, 3:47 am EST

• 

  kavan155gondalia

  • Post Options:
  • Link
    Copy
  • Jump To Answer

  Posted 18 September 2025, 3:47 am EST - Updated 18 September 2025, 3:49 am EST

  Hi Team,

  Try importing the attached .sjs file in the SpreadJS demo site (https://developer.mescius.com/spreadjs/demos/features/spreadjs-file-format/overview/purejs), and then export it as .xlsx from there.

  When I open the exported file in Microsoft Excel, after clicking Enable Editing, many options in the Data ribbon are greyed out. However, if I switch to a different sheet (using the sheet tabs at the bottom) and then return to the original sheet, all the ribbon options become enabled, and I can open/close grouped rows as expected.

  Environment details:

  • Excel version: Microsoft® Excel® 2021 MSO (Version 2508 Build 16.0.19127.20192) 64-bit
  • SpreadJS version: 17.1.10

  Is this a known issue with the export metadata? Do I need to set any specific options (e.g., active sheet or active cell) to prevent this behavior?

  Thanks,
  
  Kavan

  files.zip

• 

  ankit.kumar

  

  • Post Options:
  • Link
    Copy

  Posted 18 September 2025, 6:17 am EST

  Hi Kavan,

  Thank you for sharing the file. I was able to reproduce the reported behaviour on my end. I’ve escalated this to the development team for further investigation.

  The internal tracking ID for this issue is SJS-31577. At the moment, there is no available workaround. I will keep you updated as soon as I receive more information from the dev team.

  Regards,
  
  Ankit

• 

  kavan155gondalia

  • Post Options:
  • Link
    Copy

  Posted 18 September 2025, 7:33 am EST

  Hi Ankit,

  Please keep me posted!

  Thanks,
  
  Kavan

• 

  ankit.kumar

  

  • Post Options:
  • Link
    Copy

  Posted 24 September 2025, 1:14 am EST

  Hi Kavan,

  The development team has mentioned that the shared file contains 8 hidden sheets, out of which 5 are still selected. In MS Excel, when multiple sheets are selected, the Data tab becomes disabled.

  This explains why you need to switch the active sheet through the UI in order to enable the Data tab — as doing so resets the sheet selection state.

  The same behaviour applies in SpreadJS. Once you import the .sjs file into the Designer, switch the active sheet in the Designer, and then export it to Excel, the Data tab in the exported file will be enabled.

  Could you please confirm how the shared file was generated? We suspect it may have been created using the API. If that’s the case, this behaviour could be intentional, since we cannot override the selection properties explicitly set by the user during the export process.

  It would be helpful if you could share how the file was generated and the use case for creating it through the APIs.

  Regards,
  
  Ankit