Exporting data from SharePoint Online List shows missing information on the Issue-Detail column which is a Multiline Text with Enhanced Rich Text option on and Append Changes to Existing Text

Question

I have created a list in SharePoint Online and added few column including the Issue-Detail column which is a Multiline Text with Enhanced Rich Text option on and Append Changes to Existing Text option selected.

I want to do the following:

1. Dispaly the information that I added to the Issue-Detail column so that it displays normal just like in any other field without showing the "View Entries" hyperlink.
2. When I export the data to Excel, the information from the Issue-Detail is missing.

I will appreciate to get a workaround on these issues.

Answer 1

Dear Reuben N,

Greetings! Thank you for posting in Microsoft forum.

According to your post, I tested on my end, and to answer your questions:

1. We can’t remove “View Entries” when Append Changes to Existing Text is on. When you enable the feature Append Changes to Existing Text for a field in a SharePoint list item, changes to that field are shown as a thread. The earlier text cannot be changed, and new text is shown above the earlier text. This feature is especially useful for discussions and issue tracking/auditing. Note- “View Entries” link will appear when Append Changes to Existing Text is off.
2. Based on my test, when I export the SharePoint list to Excel via Export>Export to Excel, the data in the multi-line text is visible, the catch is it will only show the last entry in the said column, screenshot below for reference.

Since you mentioned the multi-line column is empty on your end, may I know which option did you select, Excel to Excel or CSV?

We will look forward to your reply. Stay safe and stay healthy.

Sincerely,

Neha Singh | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Good Day Neh

THank you for replying to my question.

I tested both export options and this is what happens when I export from SharePoint:

• Exporting to Excel

Some of the rows display the Issue-Detail last comment data but some just come out blank even when there is information in the SharePoint list.

• Exporting to CSV

The IssueDetail column in the csv file display the html tags for the View Entries link e.g <a href=''[listurl]&id=[list_item_id">View Entries</a>

I also tried exporting the data using Power Automate workflows but the data comes out is the same as when I export the data to excel manually. The Issue Detail column has data for some rows and has no data for other rows.