Fix SharePoint Multiline Text Exporting with View Entries Link
Question details
Users need to export SharePoint list data containing multiline text with "Append Changes" enabled without getting HTML links ("View Entries") or blank cells.
- Product
- SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting a SharePoint list to Microsoft Excel or CSV where a multiline text column tracks historical comments.
- Observed behavior
- Excel exports show only the latest entry or blank values, while CSV exports display HTML tags with a "View Entries" link instead of the actual text.
Verify you have Site Owner or List Administrator permissions, as resolving this requires modifying list column settings or creating Power Automate flows.
Disable 'Append Changes to Existing Text' Setting
The easiest way to ensure data exports cleanly without HTML links is to use a standard multiline text column without the append feature.
When 'Append Changes to Existing Text' is active, SharePoint relies on item versioning to store comments. This prevents the standard export functions from retrieving the full text thread natively.
Disabling this feature allows new text to be stored as a single, flat string, which exports perfectly to both Excel and CSV without displaying the 'View Entries' link.
Open your SharePoint list, click the gear icon in the top right corner, and select 'List settings'.
Scroll down to the Columns section and click on the name of your multiline text column.
Find the 'Append Changes to Existing Text' option and toggle it to 'No'.
Click 'OK' to save the changes. Future list exports to Excel or CSV will now display the text normally.
Extract Complete History using Power Automate
If your workflow requires keeping the append changes feature enabled, use Power Automate to extract the version history programmatically.
Edit Your Exported SharePoint Lists Effortlessly with WPS Office
After extracting your SharePoint list data, you need a reliable tool to analyze and format it. WPS Office provides a lightweight, free alternative to Microsoft Office, ensuring seamless handling of your exported Excel and CSV files.
- 1. Open WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office on your computer and select the Spreadsheet application.
- 2. Import the Exported List: Click 'Open' and select the CSV or Excel file you just exported from SharePoint.
- 3. Format Your Data: Select your multiline text columns and use the 'Wrap Text' feature in the Home tab to easily read your extracted comments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my SharePoint export show a 'View Entries' link?
This happens when the 'Append Changes to Existing Text' setting is enabled on a multiline text column. SharePoint stores these entries as version history, which standard CSV exports render as an HTML link instead of flat text.
Can I export all appended comments to a single Excel cell?
Not natively through the standard 'Export to Excel' button. The default export only retrieves the most recent comment. To get all historical comments, you must use Power Automate or the SharePoint REST API to extract the version history.
Why are some rows completely blank in my Excel export?
If a list item hasn't had any new comments added recently or if the versioning wasn't triggered correctly during an update, the standard Excel export might fail to pull the latest text, resulting in a blank cell.
What happens to old comments if I turn off 'Append Changes'?
Turning off 'Append Changes' stops new comments from being versioned separately. Past comments are still safely stored in the item's version history, but you may need to manually copy that older history if you want it visible in the flat text column.
