Export to csv in jQuery

Question

I am dynamically generating a div which is like :

<div id='PrintDiv'>
        <table id="mainTable">
            <tr>
                <td>
                    Col1
                </td>
                <td>
                    Col2
                </td>
                <td>
                    Col3
                </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>
                    Val1
                </td>
                <td>
                    Val2
                </td>
                <td>
                    Val3
                </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>
                    Val11
                </td>
                <td>
                    Val22
                </td>
                <td>
                    Val33
                </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>
                    Val111
                </td>
                <td>
                    Val222
                </td>
                <td>
                    Val333
                </td>
            </tr>
        </table>
    </div>

And there are lot more elements on the page as well. Now, how can i get a csv file like this :

Col1,Col2,Col3
Val1,Val2,Val3
Val11,Val22,Val33
Val111,Val222,Val333

using jQuery ?

need a file save dailog box too,like this :

Thanks.

Answer 1

You can do that in the client side only, in browser that accept Data URIs:

data:application/csv;charset=utf-8,content_encoded_as_url

In your example the Data URI must be:

data:application/csv;charset=utf-8,Col1%2CCol2%2CCol3%0AVal1%2CVal2%2CVal3%0AVal11%2CVal22%2CVal33%0AVal111%2CVal222%2CVal333

You can call this URI by:

• using window.open
• or setting the window.location
• or by the href of an anchor
• by adding the download attribute it will work in chrome, still have to test in IE.

To test, simply copy the URIs above and paste in your browser address bar. Or test the anchor below in a HTML page:

<a download="somedata.csv" href="data:application/csv;charset=utf-8,Col1%2CCol2%2CCol3%0AVal1%2CVal2%2CVal3%0AVal11%2CVal22%2CVal33%0AVal111%2CVal222%2CVal333">Example</a>

To create the content, getting the values from the table, you can use table2CSV and do:

var data = $table.table2CSV({delivery:'value'});

$('<a></a>')
    .attr('id','downloadFile')
    .attr('href','data:text/csv;charset=utf8,' + encodeURIComponent(data))
    .attr('download','filename.csv')
    .appendTo('body');

$('#downloadFile').ready(function() {
    $('#downloadFile').get(0).click();
});

Most, if not all, versions of IE don't support navigation to a data link, so a hack must be implemented, often with an iframe. Using an iFrame combined with document.execCommand('SaveAs'..), you can get similar behavior on most currently used versions of IE.