Overview
When exporting from ZenGRC to CSV, customers can choose to strip HTML tags from rich-text fields.
TIP
To use data import to alter information already in the application, see Downloading Existing Items For Update.
What are Rich-Text Fields?
Many applications, including ZenGRC, provide tools with which to format text. This is typically in large text boxes where words can be edited to display as bold, italic, or underlined. It also allows the user to change fonts, font sizes, and font colors.
However, when rich text is placed into a plain text format, which is what occurs when information is exported from ZenGRC, the formatting characters, called HTML, also display. These additional characters can impede user comprehension.
Examples
The following are examples of rich-text fields:
- Formatted description while editing.
- Description in the application when looking at the same information in a list view:
What is HTML Formatting?
Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is used to alter text edited in rich-text fields. When something is selected to be bold or italic, HTML characters are used behind the scenes to make that change. These characters are typically enclosed in tags and only become visible when rich text is converted to plain text, which is what occurs when information is exported from ZenGRC.
Example
The following provides an example of HTML tags in Google Sheets that display upon export:
Exporting Plain Text
If your organization needs to analyze data and would like to strip the HTML characters to ease comprehension, there is an option to export data without HTML. However, the main use-case for this functionality is to export data for reporting purposes. If the same file is used to re-import data, all formatting would be lost and most text would read with no breaks.
The following screenshot shows data that was initially exported with no HTML formatting and was re-imported into ZenGRC:
- Access the export module by following instructions at Data Export.
- Unformatted (exported CSV) in Google Sheets, aka the desired outcome.
