Fix numeric types in CSV and XLSX exports

[cwbuecheler]

Cube returns measure values as strings, and the export code stringified every cell, so Excel treated numbers as text and CSV wrapped every value in quotes.

Problem
Cube returns measure values as strings, and the export code stringified every cell. As a result:

• XLSX exports had numbers stored as text. Excel showed the "number stored as text" warning, and SUM and charts ignored those cells.
• CSV exports wrapped every value, including numbers, in double quotes.

Changes

• formatData coerces numeric columns to numbers. It decides by column type rather than by looking at the value.
  • Measures with nativeType number, count, count_distinct, count_distinct_approx, sum, avg, min or max are coerced.
  • Dimensions with nativeType number are coerced.
  • Everything else stays a string, so values like zip codes (01234) keep their leading zeros.
  • Null and empty values become ''. A value that isn't a valid number keeps its original string.
• CSV cells are quoted only when needed: a comma, quote, newline, or leading or trailing whitespace. Numbers and empty cells are unquoted.
• exportXLSX needed no change of its own. It now receives real numbers, so it writes numeric cells.

Testing

• Updated the existing export tests for the unquoted CSV output.
• Added tests for the quoting rules, number coercion, string-typed measures, leading zeros, and the NaN and null fallbacks.
• Added export.utils.xlsx.test.ts, which uses the real xlsx and asserts the cell types ('n' for numbers, 's' for text).
• Not yet checked: opening a real export in Excel.

Notes

• CSV output is no longer always-quoted. It is still valid RFC 4180, but anything that parsed the old format byte-for-byte will see a difference.

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There's no changeset yet. If you want one, I can add it, since the repo's release flow uses them.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features
  • CSV exports now quote cells only when needed, such as when they contain commas, quotes, line breaks, or surrounding whitespace.
  • XLSX exports now store numeric values as numbers while preserving text values, including values with leading zeros. Empty values remain blank, and numeric-looking text in non-numeric columns stays text.

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Walkthrough

Export utilities now write values from numeric columns as numbers when conversion succeeds. CSV output quotes cells only when their content requires it.

Changes

Export formatting

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Native-type-aware cell conversion src/theme/utils/export.utils.ts, src/theme/utils/export.utils.test.ts, src/theme/utils/export.utils.xlsx.test.ts	formatData uses Cube native types to identify numeric columns. Valid numeric values become numbers; null, undefined, and empty values become empty cells. Tests cover numeric and string values in XLSX exports.
Conditional CSV quoting src/theme/utils/export.utils.ts, src/theme/utils/export.utils.test.ts, .changeset/export-numeric-types.md	CSV cells are quoted when they contain delimiters, quotes, line breaks, or surrounding whitespace. Tests cover quoting, empty values, and text values such as leading-zero strings. A patch changeset describes the export changes.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Merge Risk: 🟡 Moderate · up to e08fa

Values in numeric columns are now exported as numbers. Some inputs, such as very large IDs, blank strings, and "Infinity", can be silently changed in the exported files. Tighten the conversion before merging.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 3…
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly summarizes the main change: fixing numeric types in CSV and XLSX exports.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description explains why the change is needed, outlines the implementation, and provides test evidence. Its note that no changeset exists is outdated; the changeset is included in the pull request…

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Actionable comments posted: 1

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @src/theme/utils/export.utils.ts:
- Around line 51-52: Update the numeric conversion in the export
value-normalization function to reject blank strings and non-finite numbers, and
preserve the original string when converting it would change its value,
including integers beyond the safe range. Add export tests covering these cases
and verify both CSV and XLSX retain the original value.

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• .changeset/export-numeric-types.md
• src/theme/utils/export.utils.test.ts
• src/theme/utils/export.utils.ts
• src/theme/utils/export.utils.xlsx.test.ts

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[martinburch-df]

XLSX exports had numbers stored as text. Excel showed the "number stored as text" warning, and SUM and charts ignored those cells.

Actually, by default behaviour, the underlying chart.js library suppressed these warnings in Embeddable/Remarkable Pro exports,

see https://docs.sheetjs.com/docs/api/write-options/#ec

By default, SheetJS writers add special marks to instruct Excel not to elicit warnings on cells containing text that look like numbers.

this suppression led to confusion about why numeric operations and formatting failed to apply in Excel

[cwbuecheler]

@mad-raccoon - All coderabbit and sonarqube issues fixed. I think this one's ready for human eyes :)

[cwbuecheler]

@mad-raccoon - test evidence:

CSV no longer has numbers wrapped in quotes:

Excel file now treats numbers as numbers (right-aligned, a SUM on them works as expected)

[martinburch-df]

Will nativeType always be available? In trying to test this fix on a code-configured dashboard, I found it wasn't, and therefore the export numeric values remained as strings, but I might not be seeing the full picture.

Also, just wanted to check, is an allowlist CUBE_MEASURE_TYPE_COUNT_DISTINCT, CUBE_MEASURE_TYPE_COUNT_DISTINCT_APPROX, etc, etc. the only way here? With all these numeric types, I wonder if it would be easier to list the non-numeric types instead, on a blocklist.

[cwbuecheler]

@martinburch-df - we can switch to a blocklist for measures. For dimensions, which are more likely to be text than anything else, it's probably better to keep it as an allowlist.

Can you expand a bit on when nativeType wasn't available? I'd like to replicate and then figure out the best solution

[martinburch-df]

@cwbuecheler here are the two states I'm seeing, with screenshots and yml config files.

1. No nativeType available

[Check]-nativeType-on-dashboard-as-code-inputs.embeddable.yml

2. nativeType is available

[Example]-Spotify-Artist-dashboard.embeddable.yml

[cwbuecheler]

Hmm. Thanks @martinburch-df! That feels like a bug in Dashboards as Code. There's no reason in-platform components should get a nativeType value but DAC ones shouldn't, I don't think. I'm going to ask engineering but in the interim let me see if I can find a workaround.

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
92.6% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

[cwbuecheler]

@martinburch-df - the just-committed change should resolve the issue, as it uses the blocklist approach and defaults to numbers for measures unless explicitly typed as something else. I've added an engineering ticket for DAC bug and confirmed we can get it into this sprint with Product.