ALV / SALV Converter and OLE Automation

The classes described on this page are in the not_cloud package — they depend on classic ABAP APIs that are not available on SAP BTP ABAP Environment or S/4HANA Public Cloud. They install and run on:

• SAP ECC 6.0 (all Enhancement Packages)
• SAP S/4HANA On-Premise
• SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud

If you are targeting BTP ABAP or S/4HANA Public Cloud, skip to Cloud Compatibility and use the cloud-safe alternatives.

Package Overview

Class	Purpose
zcl_excel_converter	Core converter — maps ABAP internal-table + field-catalogue to an Excel workbook
zcl_excel_converter_alv	Converts an ALV LVC_S_FCAT field catalogue to Excel
zcl_excel_converter_alv_grid	Adaptor that reads field catalogue from a live CL_GUI_ALV_GRID instance
zcl_excel_converter_salv_table	Converts a CL_SALV_TABLE model to Excel, inheriting from _alv
zcl_excel_converter_salv_model	Helper — extracts column metadata from CL_SALV_TABLE
zcl_excel_converter_result	Base result class — carries the produced zcl_excel object
zcl_excel_converter_result_ex	Extended result — also carries exception information
zcl_excel_converter_result_wd	Web Dynpro result — delivers the file to a CL_WD_RUNTIME_SERVICES context
zcl_excel_ole	OLE automation — controls Excel directly on the SAP front-end GUI
zexcel_template_get_types	Report that inspects ABAP data-object types for template filling

ALV → Excel: zcl_excel_converter_alv

The quickest way to export an existing ALV/SALV report to Excel:

" Export a SALV table to Excel
DATA: lo_salv      TYPE REF TO cl_salv_table,
      lo_converter TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_converter_salv_table,
      lo_result    TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_converter_result.

" Assume lo_salv was created by the normal CL_SALV_TABLE=>FACTORY call

CREATE OBJECT lo_converter.
lo_result = lo_converter->convert(
  io_salv_table = lo_salv
  it_data       = lt_data          " The underlying ABAP internal table
  iv_sheet_name = 'Report'         " Optional tab label
).

" Retrieve the workbook and write to file
DATA(lo_excel) = lo_result->get_excel( ).
DATA(lo_writer) = NEW zcl_excel_writer_2007( ).
DATA(lv_file) = lo_writer->write_file( lo_excel ).

" Download to front-end — example using ABAP2XLSX helper
cl_gui_frontend_services=>gui_download(
  EXPORTING
    filename   = 'report.xlsx'
    filetype   = 'BIN'
  CHANGING
    data_tab   = VALUE filetable( )
  EXCEPTIONS OTHERS = 1
).

Generic Converter: zcl_excel_converter

For precise control, use the base zcl_excel_converter class with a manually built field catalogue (zexcel_s_converter_fcat):

DATA: lo_converter TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_converter,
      lt_fcat      TYPE zexcel_t_converter_fcat.

" Build field catalogue
APPEND VALUE zexcel_s_converter_fcat(
  fieldname  = 'MATNR'
  coltext    = 'Material'
  col_pos    = 1
  outputlen  = 18
  datatype   = 'CHAR'
) TO lt_fcat.

APPEND VALUE zexcel_s_converter_fcat(
  fieldname  = 'MAKTX'
  coltext    = 'Description'
  col_pos    = 2
  outputlen  = 40
  datatype   = 'CHAR'
) TO lt_fcat.

APPEND VALUE zexcel_s_converter_fcat(
  fieldname  = 'LABST'
  coltext    = 'Unrestricted Stock'
  col_pos    = 3
  outputlen  = 13
  datatype   = 'QUAN'
  cfieldname = 'MEINS'   " Currency/unit reference field
) TO lt_fcat.

CREATE OBJECT lo_converter.
DATA(lo_result) = lo_converter->convert(
  it_data  = lt_material_data
  it_fcat  = lt_fcat
).

zexcel_s_converter_fcat Key Fields

Field	Type	Description
fieldname	FIELDNAME	ABAP component name in the data table
coltext	string	Column header label
col_pos	i	Column order (1-based)
no_out	flag	'X' = exclude this field from output
outputlen	intlen	Column width (character units)
datatype	DOMNAME	ABAP data type (CHAR, NUMC, CURR, QUAN, DATS, TIMS, …)
cfieldname	FIELDNAME	Companion field for currency/unit (maps to the ip_currency parameter of set_cell)
convexit	CONVEXIT	Conversion exit to apply (e.g. MATN1 for material numbers)
key	flag	'X' = mark as key column (bold by default)
ref_table / ref_field	TABNAME / FIELDNAME	DDIC reference for F4 help and data-type derivation

Web Dynpro: zcl_excel_converter_result_wd

For Web Dynpro ABAP applications, use the _result_wd subclass to push the file directly to the browser via the WD file download UI element:

" In a WD action handler
DATA(lo_result_wd) = CAST zcl_excel_converter_result_wd(
  lo_converter->convert( it_data = lt_data  it_fcat = lt_fcat )
).

lo_result_wd->download(
  iv_filename = 'export.xlsx'
  io_component = wd_this->wd_get_api( )
).

OLE Automation: zcl_excel_ole

zcl_excel_ole drives Excel directly on the SAP GUI front-end using OLE/ActiveX. This is the legacy approach for scenarios where the server-side OOXML approach is not possible, or where you need features like executing macros, printing via the Excel print driver, or accessing COM add-ins.

⚠️ OLE automation requires a Windows front-end with Excel installed. It does not work in SAP GUI for HTML, SAP Fiori, or any browser-based UI. It also does not work in background jobs (no GUI session).

DATA: lo_ole TYPE REF TO zcl_excel_ole.

CREATE OBJECT lo_ole.

" Open or create a workbook on the front-end
lo_ole->open_workbook( iv_filename = 'C:\Temp\report.xlsx' ).

" Write a cell value via OLE
lo_ole->set_cell(
  iv_sheet_name = 'Sheet1'
  iv_column     = 2
  iv_row        = 5
  iv_value      = 'Hello from ABAP'
).

" Save and close
lo_ole->save_workbook( ).
lo_ole->close_workbook( ).
lo_ole->destroy( ).  " Always call destroy to release COM objects

When to Use OLE vs. Server-Side API

Criterion	Server-side (zcl_excel_writer_*)	OLE (zcl_excel_ole)
Background job	✅	❌
SAP Fiori / Web GUI	✅	❌
Cloud / BTP	✅	❌
Execute VBA macros	❌	✅
Print via Excel driver	❌	✅
COM add-in interaction	❌	✅
Performance (large files)	✅ Fast	⚠️ Slow (OLE overhead)

Template Helper: zexcel_template_get_types

zexcel_template_get_types is an executable ABAP report (SE38) that inspects an ABAP data object and displays the component-to-range mapping for use with zcl_excel_fill_template. Run it in SE38 before designing a template to understand how your ABAP structures will map to named ranges:

1. Open SE38, enter ZEXCEL_TEMPLATE_GET_TYPES, and execute.
2. Enter the name of the ABAP structure or table type.
3. The report lists all components with their data types, nesting levels, and the corresponding named-range name that zcl_excel_fill_template will expect.

This is especially useful for deeply nested structures used in multi-level repeating ranges.

Next Steps

• Template Filling — server-side template filling with named ranges
• Cloud Compatibility — cloud-safe alternatives to not_cloud classes
• Data Conversion — bind_table as a simpler alternative
• XLSM Macros — preserve VBA macros in a server-side workflow