Skip to main content
  • EN

Howdy,

Working with the Excel Writer, I am wondering if there is a way to have a sheet name of 31 characters and a named range of an additional 10-20 characters?

A combined 31 characters does not permit very descriptive naming of sheet names/named ranges, if I'm completely missing something or someone has a suggestion for a work around I'd love to hear it.

 

Background

The writer’s General Parameters Sheet Name text box is limited to 31 characters, which makes sense since this is the designed maximum length for a sheet name. Reading the FME tutorial "Using a Template File when Writing Excel Data" there is no mention of character limitations.

FME's character limitation becomes an issue when writing to a named range, both the sheet name and named range are entered into the the same text box separated by a "/". Due to this, where the combined total characters exceed 31 the extra is trimmed off (e.g. sheet name & named range of "DataSummary_FMEoutput/tbl_SummaryCalcs" is 38 characters). As mentioned above, this does not permit very descriptive naming of sheet names/named ranges.

Based on a web search it looks like Excel places a 255 character limit on named ranges.

 

Thank you in advance!

Hi @joshuadamron,

 

Currently, this limit is being applied in the Excel Writer for the "Sheet Name" parameter. Unfortunately, it does not differentiate between the Sheet Name and Named Range at the moment. As a result, the 31 character limit applies to both the worksheet plus named range in the Excel Writer.

 

This issue exists in our tracking system as: FMEENGINE-56571. I will be sure to update this post with any updates/fixes as I hear from development.

 

Alternatively, if you prefer to be notified by email, please let me know as I can create a case on your behalf or you can submit a case (referencing FMEENGINE-56571) so you can be linked directly to the enhancement request.

Hi @joshuadamron,

 

Currently, this limit is being applied in the Excel Writer for the "Sheet Name" parameter. Unfortunately, it does not differentiate between the Sheet Name and Named Range at the moment. As a result, the 31 character limit applies to both the worksheet plus named range in the Excel Writer.

 

This issue exists in our tracking system as: FMEENGINE-56571. I will be sure to update this post with any updates/fixes as I hear from development.

 

Alternatively, if you prefer to be notified by email, please let me know as I can create a case on your behalf or you can submit a case (referencing FMEENGINE-56571) so you can be linked directly to the enhancement request.

Hi @joshuadamron,

Good news! We just released a fix for this in the latest FME 2020 beta (build 20139). Feel free to try out the latest beta on our downloads page.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any additional feedback for the fix.

Reply


Community Stats

30,109
Posts
114,302
Replies
37,745
Members
Terms & ConditionsCookie settings
A product of
Safe Software respectfully acknowledges that we live, learn and work on the traditional and unceded territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations.