0e2e1bddba
- Created create_excel_xlsxwriter.py and update_excel_xlsxwriter.py - Uses openpyxl exclusively to preserve Excel formatting and formulas - Updated server.js to use new xlsxwriter scripts for form submissions - Maintains all original functionality while ensuring proper Excel file handling 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
117 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
117 lines
5.6 KiB
Markdown
# Excel Table Repair Error Analysis
|
|
|
|
## Issue Summary
|
|
When opening Ubuntu-generated Excel files, Excel displays repair errors specifically for tables:
|
|
- **Repaired Records: Table from /xl/tables/table1.xml part (Table)**
|
|
- **Repaired Records: Table from /xl/tables/table2.xml part (Table)**
|
|
|
|
**CRITICAL FINDING**: The same script generates working files on macOS but broken files on Ubuntu, indicating a **platform-specific issue** rather than a general Excel format problem.
|
|
|
|
## Investigation Findings
|
|
|
|
### Three-Way Table Structure Comparison
|
|
|
|
#### Template File (Original - Working)
|
|
- Contains proper XML declaration: `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>`
|
|
- Includes comprehensive namespace declarations:
|
|
- `xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"`
|
|
- `xmlns:xr="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2014/revision"`
|
|
- `xmlns:xr3="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision3"`
|
|
- Has `mc:Ignorable="xr xr3"` compatibility directive
|
|
- Contains unique identifiers (`xr:uid`, `xr3:uid`) for tables and columns
|
|
- Proper table ID sequence (table1 has id="2", table2 has id="3")
|
|
|
|
#### macOS Generated File (Working - No Repair Errors)
|
|
- **Missing XML declaration** - no `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>`
|
|
- **Missing namespace declarations** for revision extensions
|
|
- **No compatibility directives** (`mc:Ignorable`)
|
|
- **Missing unique identifiers** for tables and columns
|
|
- **Different table ID sequence** (table1 has id="1", table2 has id="2")
|
|
- **File sizes: 1,032 bytes (table1), 1,121 bytes (table2)**
|
|
|
|
#### Ubuntu Generated File (Broken - Requires Repair)
|
|
- **Missing XML declaration** - no `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>`
|
|
- **Missing namespace declarations** for revision extensions
|
|
- **No compatibility directives** (`mc:Ignorable`)
|
|
- **Missing unique identifiers** for tables and columns
|
|
- **Same table ID sequence as macOS** (table1 has id="1", table2 has id="2")
|
|
- **Identical file sizes to macOS: 1,032 bytes (table1), 1,121 bytes (table2)**
|
|
|
|
### Key Discovery: XML Content is Identical
|
|
|
|
**SHOCKING REVELATION**: The table XML content between macOS and Ubuntu generated files is **byte-for-byte identical**. Both have:
|
|
|
|
1. **Missing XML declarations**
|
|
2. **Missing namespace extensions**
|
|
3. **Missing unique identifiers**
|
|
4. **Same table ID sequence** (1, 2)
|
|
5. **Identical file sizes**
|
|
|
|
**macOS table1.xml vs Ubuntu table1.xml:**
|
|
```xml
|
|
<table id="1" name="Table8" displayName="Table8" ref="A43:H47" headerRowCount="1" totalsRowShown="0" headerRowDxfId="53" dataDxfId="52" xmlns="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main">...
|
|
```
|
|
*(Completely identical)*
|
|
|
|
### Root Cause Analysis - Platform Dependency
|
|
|
|
Since the table XML is identical but only Ubuntu files require repair, the issue is **NOT in the table XML content**. The problem must be:
|
|
|
|
1. **File encoding differences** during ZIP assembly
|
|
2. **ZIP compression algorithm differences** between platforms
|
|
3. **File timestamp/metadata differences** in the ZIP archive
|
|
4. **Different Python library versions** handling ZIP creation differently
|
|
5. **Excel's platform-specific validation logic** being more strict on certain systems
|
|
|
|
### Common Formula Issues
|
|
Both versions contain `#REF!` errors in calculated columns:
|
|
```xml
|
|
<calculatedColumnFormula>#REF!</calculatedColumnFormula>
|
|
```
|
|
This suggests broken cell references but doesn't cause repair errors.
|
|
|
|
### Impact Assessment
|
|
- **Functionality:** No data loss, tables work after repair
|
|
- **User Experience:** Excel shows warning dialog requiring user action **only on Ubuntu-generated files**
|
|
- **Automation:** Breaks automated processing workflows **only for Ubuntu deployments**
|
|
- **Platform Consistency:** Same code produces different results across platforms
|
|
|
|
## Recommendations
|
|
|
|
### Platform-Specific Investigation Priorities
|
|
1. **Compare Python library versions** between macOS and Ubuntu environments
|
|
2. **Check ZIP file metadata** (timestamps, compression levels, file attributes)
|
|
3. **Examine file encoding** during Excel assembly process
|
|
4. **Test with different Python Excel libraries** (openpyxl vs xlsxwriter vs others)
|
|
5. **Analyze ZIP file internals** with hex editors for subtle differences
|
|
|
|
### Immediate Workarounds
|
|
1. **Document platform dependency** in deployment guides
|
|
2. **Test all generated files** on target Excel environment before distribution
|
|
3. **Consider generating files on macOS** for production use
|
|
4. **Implement automated repair detection** in the workflow
|
|
|
|
### Long-term Fixes
|
|
1. **Standardize to template format** with proper XML declarations and namespaces
|
|
2. **Use established Excel libraries** with proven cross-platform compatibility
|
|
3. **Implement comprehensive testing** across multiple platforms
|
|
4. **Add ZIP file validation** to detect platform-specific differences
|
|
|
|
## Technical Details
|
|
|
|
### File Comparison Results
|
|
| File | Template | macOS Generated | Ubuntu Generated | Ubuntu vs macOS |
|
|
|------|----------|----------------|------------------|-----------------|
|
|
| table1.xml | 1,755 bytes | 1,032 bytes | 1,032 bytes | **Identical** |
|
|
| table2.xml | 1,844 bytes | 1,121 bytes | 1,121 bytes | **Identical** |
|
|
|
|
### Platform Dependency Evidence
|
|
- **Identical table XML content** between macOS and Ubuntu
|
|
- **Same missing features** (declarations, namespaces, UIDs)
|
|
- **Different Excel behavior** (repair required only on Ubuntu)
|
|
- **Suggests ZIP-level or metadata differences**
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
*Analysis completed: 2025-09-19*
|
|
*Files examined: Template vs Test5 generated Excel workbooks* |