Data Export - Quail BI

Quail BI provides flexible data export capabilities, allowing you to download query results in various formats for reporting, analysis, or sharing with stakeholders.

Supported Export Formats

Quail supports four export formats, each optimized for different use cases:

CSV

Comma-separated values for universal compatibility and data portability

Excel

XLSX format for advanced spreadsheet analysis and formatting

PDF

Professional reports with formatted tables (uses jsPDF)

SQL

Export your SQL queries as .sql files for versioning and sharing

Exporting Query Results

After executing a query, you can export the results using the download button in the results panel.

Execute Your Query

Run your SQL query in the Query Editor to generate results in the data table.

Open Export Menu

Click the Download button (download icon) in the results toolbar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+S (Mac).

Select Format

Choose your desired export format from the dropdown menu:

Download CSV
Download Excel
Download PDF

Save File

Your browser will prompt you to save the file. The default filename follows the pattern:

CSV: query_results.csv or selected_data.csv
Excel: query_results.xlsx or selected_data.xlsx
PDF: query_results.pdf or selected_data.pdf

Use Ctrl+S / Cmd+S to quickly toggle the export menu without clicking.

Selective Data Export

Quail allows you to export either all results or only selected rows.

Exporting Selected Rows

Select Rows

Use the checkboxes in the first column of the results table to select specific rows you want to export.

Export Selection

Click the Download button and choose your format. The export will include only the selected rows.

Exporting All Data

If no rows are selected, the export automatically includes all query results.

The export respects column visibility settings. Hidden columns will not be included in the exported file.

Export Format Details

CSV Export

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is ideal for data portability and importing into other systems. Features:

Universal format compatible with all spreadsheet applications
Handles special characters and commas in data values
Properly escapes quotes in text fields
UTF-8 encoding for international character support

Implementation:

import { downloadCSV } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadCSV';

downloadCSV(data, columns, 'custom_filename');

Best for:

Importing data into other databases
Data processing with scripts
Lightweight data transfer
Version control-friendly format

Excel Export

Excel export creates .xlsx files using the xlsx library (SheetJS). Features:

Native Excel format (XLSX)
Preserves data types
Single worksheet named “Data” or “Selected Data”
Compatible with Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice

Implementation:

import { downloadExcel } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadExcel';
import * as XLSX from 'xlsx';

downloadExcel(data, columns, 'custom_filename');

Best for:

Business reports requiring formatting
Data analysis with Excel features
Sharing with non-technical users
Creating pivot tables and charts

Excel files maintain cell formatting better than CSV and support multiple data types.

PDF Export

PDF export generates professional reports using jspdf and jspdf-autotable. Features:

Professional tabular layout
Automatic table pagination for large datasets
Dark gray header (RGB: 66, 66, 66)
Compact 8pt font for maximum data density
20pt top margin for branding

Implementation:

import { downloadPDF } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadPDF';
import jsPDF from 'jspdf';
import autoTable from 'jspdf-autotable';

downloadPDF(data, columns, 'custom_filename');

Configuration:

autoTable(doc, {
  head: [headers],
  body: tableData,
  styles: { fontSize: 8 },
  headStyles: { fillColor: [66, 66, 66] },
  margin: { top: 20 },
});

Best for:

Executive reports
Print-ready documents
Archival purposes
Email attachments for stakeholders

PDF exports are optimized for printing with automatic page breaks and consistent formatting.

SQL Export

Export your SQL queries as reusable .sql files. Features:

Saves the query text from the editor
Timestamp-based default filenames (query-2026-03-10T14-30-00.sql)
Plain text format for version control
Preserves formatting and comments

Implementation:

import { downloadSQL } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadSQL';

await downloadSQL('my_query');

Best for:

Query versioning and backup
Sharing queries with team members
Building query libraries
Documentation purposes

Column Visibility Control

Control which columns appear in your exports:

Toggle Column Visibility

Use the column visibility controls in the results table to show/hide specific columns.

Verify Selection

Review the visible columns in the table - only these will be exported.

Export

Proceed with your export. Hidden columns are automatically excluded from all formats.

Hide sensitive columns (like passwords or internal IDs) before exporting data for external sharing.

Handling Special Data

NULL Values

NULL values are handled consistently across formats:

CSV: Empty string ""
Excel: Empty cell
PDF: Empty string

Special Characters

Data containing special characters is properly escaped:

// CSV escaping for commas and quotes
if (value.includes(',') || value.includes('"')) {
  return `"${value.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`;
}

Large Text Fields

Long text values are preserved in all formats, though PDF may truncate very wide content to fit page width.

Date and Time

Dates are exported in their string representation. Format dates in your SQL query for consistent output:

SELECT 
  TO_CHAR(created_at, 'YYYY-MM-DD') as creation_date,
  TO_CHAR(updated_at, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS') as last_updated
FROM orders;

File Naming Conventions

Default Names

Export Type	Default Filename
All rows	`query_results.[format]`
Selected rows	`selected_data.[format]`
SQL query	`query-[timestamp].sql`

Custom Names

Provide custom filenames programmatically:

downloadCSV(data, columns, 'sales_report_2026');
downloadExcel(data, columns, 'monthly_revenue');
downloadPDF(data, columns, 'executive_summary');

Custom filenames automatically receive the appropriate file extension (.csv, .xlsx, .pdf, .sql).

Performance Considerations

Large Datasets

Exporting large result sets:

CSV: Most efficient for large datasets (direct string concatenation)
Excel: Moderate memory usage (uses XLSX library)
PDF: Highest memory usage (rendering and pagination)

For datasets over 100,000 rows, CSV is recommended for optimal performance.

Browser Limitations

Browser memory limits may affect very large exports:

Most browsers handle up to 1 million rows in CSV format
Excel exports are limited by the XLSX library (approximately 1 million rows)
PDF exports should be limited to printable sizes (under 10,000 rows)

Best Practices

Filter data: Export only necessary rows using WHERE clauses
Select columns: Include only required columns in your query
Paginate: For huge datasets, export in batches
Use CSV: Choose CSV for maximum performance with large data

Common Use Cases

Business Reporting

SELECT 
  DATE_TRUNC('month', order_date) as month,
  SUM(amount) as total_revenue,
  COUNT(*) as order_count
FROM orders
WHERE order_date >= '2026-01-01'
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1;

Export as PDF for executive reports or Excel for analysis.

Data Migration

SELECT * FROM customers
WHERE created_at >= '2025-01-01';

Export as CSV for importing into another system.

-- Monthly sales by region
SELECT 
  region,
  COUNT(*) as sales_count,
  AVG(amount) as avg_sale
FROM sales
GROUP BY region;

Export as SQL to share the query with teammates.

Ad-hoc Analysis

SELECT 
  product_name,
  SUM(quantity) as total_sold,
  SUM(revenue) as total_revenue
FROM product_sales
GROUP BY product_name
ORDER BY total_revenue DESC
LIMIT 100;

Export as Excel for pivot tables and charts.

Troubleshooting

Export Button Disabled

Cause: Export is in progress or no data available Solution:

Wait for current export to complete
Execute a query to generate results
Verify the query returned data

Empty File Downloaded

Cause: No rows selected and table is empty Solution:

Verify your query returned results
Check if all columns are hidden
Ensure at least one row is visible

Special Characters Corrupted

Cause: Encoding issue with international characters Solution:

CSV files use UTF-8 encoding by default
Open CSV files with UTF-8 encoding in your spreadsheet app
For Excel, the XLSX format handles Unicode natively

PDF Tables Truncated

Cause: Too many columns for page width Solution:

Hide unnecessary columns before export
Use landscape orientation (future feature)
Export as CSV/Excel for wide tables

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+S` / `Cmd+S`	Open export menu
`Esc`	Close export menu

API Integration

Developers can integrate export functionality programmatically:

import { downloadCSV } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadCSV';
import { downloadExcel } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadExcel';
import { downloadPDF } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadPDF';
import { downloadSQL } from '@/components/stores/utils/downloads/downloadSQL';
import { SQLData } from '@/components/stores/table_store';
import { ColumnDef } from '@tanstack/react-table';

// Export query results
const data: SQLData[] = [...]; // Your query results
const columns: ColumnDef<SQLData, any>[] = [...]; // Column definitions

// Export to different formats
downloadCSV(data, columns, 'my_export');
downloadExcel(data, columns, 'my_export');
downloadPDF(data, columns, 'my_export');

// Export SQL query
await downloadSQL('my_query');

Next Steps

SQL Editor

Learn how to write and execute SQL queries

Schema Explorer

Explore your database structure before exporting

Charts

Create visual representations of your data

Dashboards

Build interactive dashboards with your data

Core Features

Advanced

​Supported Export Formats

CSV

Excel

PDF

SQL

​Exporting Query Results

​Selective Data Export

​Exporting Selected Rows

​Exporting All Data

​Export Format Details

​CSV Export

​Excel Export

​PDF Export

​SQL Export

​Column Visibility Control

​Handling Special Data

​NULL Values

​Special Characters

​Large Text Fields

​Date and Time

​File Naming Conventions

​Default Names

​Custom Names

​Performance Considerations

​Large Datasets

​Browser Limitations

​Best Practices

​Common Use Cases

​Business Reporting

​Data Migration

​Sharing Queries

​Ad-hoc Analysis

​Troubleshooting

​Export Button Disabled

​Empty File Downloaded

​Special Characters Corrupted

​PDF Tables Truncated

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​API Integration

​Next Steps

SQL Editor

Schema Explorer

Charts

Dashboards

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Supported Export Formats

Exporting Query Results

Selective Data Export

Exporting Selected Rows

Exporting All Data

Export Format Details

CSV Export

Excel Export

PDF Export

SQL Export

Column Visibility Control

Handling Special Data

NULL Values

Special Characters

Large Text Fields

Date and Time

File Naming Conventions

Default Names

Custom Names

Performance Considerations

Large Datasets

Browser Limitations

Best Practices

Common Use Cases

Business Reporting

Data Migration

Sharing Queries

Ad-hoc Analysis

Troubleshooting

Export Button Disabled

Empty File Downloaded

Special Characters Corrupted

PDF Tables Truncated

Keyboard Shortcuts

API Integration

Next Steps