Excel Multisheet error "problem with content" message
I wanted to share an issue I came across with Dataiku's Multisheet Excel Plug In and how I solved the problem.
I had been using the Excel export with a few datasets and I was excited to try the multisheet plug in. After exporting the folder and attempting to open the file I got an error dialog box. It said there was a problem withe the content and I want to recover the file. After hitting yes I got the file and appeared OK. If you saved the file the error dialog box would not return.
It turns out Excel has a limit on the number of characters to a worksheet. Dataiku excel export kept the default name "sheet1" but the multisheet plug in uses the dataset name as the worksheet name. If the name > 31 character, Excel pukes when you try to open the file.
Also, Microsoft doesn't have that limit documented in their "Excel specifications and limits" technical sheet. I figured it out using trial and error then confirmed what I observed with a simple web search.
Dataiku can add this limit to their documentation. Also, maybe improve the plug-in capability and recommend the user to reduce the dataset name or maybe allow an name override option.
Operating system used: Microsoft Windows