Excel file corrupted when using ExportAll in embedded Tableau dashboards (iframe integration)

[Cohnii]

Hi all,

First, thanks Craig for creating and maintaining the ExportAll plugin — it’s a great tool!

I’ve run into a strange issue and wanted to check if you’ve seen this before or might have any ideas.

Context

• I’ve integrated ExportAll into multiple dashboards within a Tableau workbook.
• Everything works perfectly on Tableau Desktop.
• When I publish to Tableau Server, it also works fine.
• The issue only happens when the dashboard is embedded in our company’s web portal inside an iframe.

Issue

• When exporting from the embedded version:
  - The Excel file downloads, but is often corrupted.
  - When opening it, Excel prompts to repair the file, and after repair, some columns disappear (sometimes string, sometimes numeric).

• The issue is inconsistent:
  - It works for some users but not others (same browser — Chrome, same Excel version).
  - It also depends on the dataset — some exports work fine, others don’t.

Observations

• In the corrupted Excel files, the problematic columns don’t seem to have a defined data type.
• Excel seems to default some columns to integers, but I’m not entirely sure.

Questions

• Could this be related to the iframe embedding (some browser limitation or blocked behavior)?
• Or maybe something happening during the Excel file generation process?
• Have you seen a similar issue before?

I can provide example files, screenshots, or logs if that would help.
Thanks a lot for your time and for maintaining this plugin!

Thank you all in advance for your replies

Laurent